Shadows
by RosesAndRomantics
Summary: Kai doesn't remember his parents. He was told they died when he was young, but nothing else. When a new ninja enters the scene, Kai swears that he recognizes her from somewhere. What's more is she seems to know a whole lot about Kai's family. Could she hold the key to Kai's past? Or could she be leading him to his demise?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi Everyone! This is my first Fanfic so I hope you like it! _Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago._**

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**Chapter One: **_**A New Day**_

The sun rose over Ninjago City in spectacular orange and pink hues. Locals hurried down the crowded streets on their way to work. Eager shoppers scanned the storefronts, looking for a bargain. The stillness of night had been broken, marking the start of a new day.

A little ways to the northeast, far from the hustle and bustle of the city, the Destiny's Bounty lay anchored patiently in Ninjago's forest, waiting for distress calls about rouge skeleton warriors that had been roaming Ninjago ever since Lord Garmadon was banished to the Underworld.

At first glance, the ship seemed deserted. But, upon closer inspection, signs of inhabitants could be detected: misplaced swords and armor, candy wrappers and pizza boxes strewn across the floor, and faint voices coming from below deck. Following those voices down a flight of stairs and through mazes of passageways below deck, there was a small door, slightly ajar, opening into a spacious room with vaulted ceilings and two balconies with terraces. In the center of the room, huddled around a flat screen TV and small gaming system, were four teenaged boys, deeply engrossed in some sort of multi-player battle game.

"That power-up's mine!" yelled a boy who had on a red T-shirt, faded jeans, and unruly, spiky brown hair with a fiery personality to match. He maneuvered his avatar toward a glowing emblem on-screen.

At that same moment, another avatar swooped down and grabbed the power-up before anyone else could reach it.

"Actually, Kai," said the boy sitting next to him, "I believe that Jay has gotten to it first." He spoke in a cool, even tone and was wearing a gray and white sweatshirt that matched his denim jeans. His hair was a light tan buzz cut, and his eyes were icy blue.

"Ha, Ha! That's right, Zane! I get double weapons and firepower for the rest of the game!" replied a slightly younger looking ginger haired boy clothed in a white shirt with a denim jacket over top and jeans. His stormy gray eyes danced with electricity as he spoke.

The only one seemingly not having fun was the eldest of them all, a tall boy with long black hair that almost covered his hard charcoal eyes. He had on a dark gray hoodie and tan cargo pants.

"Can we please just all stick to the plan?" he asked, his voice solid and unwavering. "The final boss is coming up, and we won't be able to beat him unless we all work together."

Jay sighed in exasperation. "Loosen up, Cole. You're always so serious!"

"Yeah," added Kai. "Just because you're our leader in the field, doesn't mean you can boss us around in video games, too."

They paid no attention to the young girl sitting behind them on the wrap-around couch, reading a thick novel. She was obviously trying very hard to ignore the boys and their rowdy game. In fact, she was sitting so still, she looked like a statue. Her short black hair framed her face, and she had the same mischievous, fiery eyes as Kai. She was wearing a simple scarlet tunic and skirt, patterned in lacy gold trim.

"Hey, sis? You you wanna join? We have an extra controller," Kai called over his shoulder, his eyes still glued to the screen.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure, Nya?" Jay asked.

"I said I'm fine! That game looks about as much fun as banging your head against a wall. All you do is run around destroying things!"

"I know, right? What could be a more perfect game?" exclaimed Kai.

"That's not what I meant and you know it. You boys are all the same – so dense!" sighed Nya, turning back to her book.

"Suit yourself," said Kai, and he continued playing the game.

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"I. Am. So. Bored!" complained Kai.

"Kai, we just played _Fist to Face 5_ for like, ten hours," said Cole. "What more do you want?"

Kai replied, "I know, I know. It's just that we haven't had trouble with Lord Garmadon and the skeleton army for weeks! I need some excitement around here before I die of boredom!"

"Well, then you're the only one," said Jay.

"Yes," added Zane. "I personally appreciate the time we have to relax."

"Just my luck," muttered Kai. "I get stuck on a ninja team full of slackers."

Suddenly, there came a soft knock on the door. Everyone froze. Even Nya looked up from her book. The ninja weren't used to getting visitors, since the Destiny's Bounty was usually either flying or anchored in a remote forest.

"Hey, Kai?" Jay said slowly. "I think that's your excitement knocking."

The four ninja cautiously approached the door, all prepared for the worst. When they opened it, a tall girl was standing there, about their age. She had on a white tank top, jeans, and tennis shoes. Her long caramel hair was gathered into a ponytail, and her hazel eyes that wandered from face to face, studying the ninjas.

Kai was so surprised that before the girl could even get a word in, he blurted out, "Who are you? How did you find this place? Are you a friend, or an enemy? If you don't start talking, I'll be forced to use Spinjitzu on you!"

"Whoa, hold on," she said, holding up her hands. "I'm Anna, and I don't know anything except Sensei Wu told me to be here."

"Wait, _you_ know Sensei Wu?" Cole asked, amazed.

"Know him?" Anna answered. "He practically raised me! See, Sensei and my dad were the best of friends. Together, they were two members of an inseparable and unbeatable trio that kept Ninjago safe from Garmadon's dark forces."

She paused, and her face fell. "I was only a few months old when, one day, my dad suddenly disappeared without a trace. Even though Sensei Wu and his partner were very distraught, they knew they still had to keep fighting for all of Ninjago's safety. They had to work twice as hard now that their team was missing a member, but despite all their efforts, the dark forces seemed to be getting stronger than ever. As if that wasn't bad enough, a few months later Sensei's partner suffered a terrible tragedy and had no choice but to retire from his adventurous life. After that, Sensei Wu became a solo fighter and I haven't seen him since."

"So," she concluded, "when I got his letter, I was so excited at the thought of seeing him that I came straight here."

Kai tried to concentrate on what Anna was saying. It wasn't that he didn't care; rather, he just couldn't shake the feeling that he'd met Anna somewhere before. And her voice...he knew he recognized her carefree tone.

"But the better question is, who are all of you?" Anna's question brought Kai back to reality. "I don't remember Sensei mentioning he took on a baby-sitting job..."

"Hey, what did you just say?!" yelled Kai outraged.

Cole groaned. "Seriously, Kai, calm down. She just asked a simple question."  
Kai was clearly ignoring him. "If she wants a fight, I'll give her one!" he said, half to himself and half to Anna.

"Bring it on, then!" Anna yelled back.

There could have been a fight right then and there if the Sensei hadn't walked in at that very moment. As soon as she saw Sensei Wu, Anna completely lost her resolve to fight Kai.

"SENSEI!" she exclaimed as a grin spread across her face. She ran straight over to him, and he enveloped her in a hug.

"It's been a while, Anna." Sensei Wu's stern features softened at the sight of her.

"Oh, Sensei, I've missed you so much! And there's _so_ much that's happened since you've left! Like my mom got a new job teaching in Jamanakai Village! And my older brother, Bryce, just disappeared one day without a single trace, besides a short note. Most importantly, I have a new little brother! He's about five years younger than me, and sometimes he can be a pain, but he's turning out to be just like Bryce – I never would've guessed!"

Sensei's face hardened again. "Anna, I wish the only reason I had called you here was to see you and catch up on old times, but the real reason is very serious indeed."

"Well, why am I here, then?"

"I need you to join my ninja team."

There was silence in the room, followed by outbursts of "What?" and "Sensei, why didn't you tell us?" and "Being a ninja is for boys only!" and so on. However, the loudest reply came from Anna herself.

"What? Are you kidding me?!" she said, shocked. "I can't be a ninja! I don't even know how to use a weapon, let alone fight! Just because my dad was a great fighter doesn't mean I automatically inherited his skills."

"That may or may not be true, Anna, but I sense great potential in you as I did in your father," Sensei Wu insisted. "This is why you must be trained in order to bring out the power of your true element."

"Okay, now I seriously have no idea what you're talking about. But, if you really think I could do it, I trust you. Somehow I have a feeling that it would make my dad proud," Anna decided.

"Hold on, Sensei," Kai interrupted. "How can you expect Anna to be a part of our team? She has no experience, she'll probably just slow us down on missions, and she doesn't even have an element or a golden weapon!"

"Silence!" Sensei Wu commanded, and the room became quiet. "Anna will decide for herself whether or not she will accept my offer."

All eyes were on Anna, and it seemed as if everyone held their breath until she spoke again.

"I accept," Anna said with deadly seriousness.

No one knew what to say, until Sensei broke the silence. "It is settled. Nya, will you show Anna to her room?"

"Sure thing, Sensei," Nya answered. Then to Anna she said, "Follow me." Nya quickly led Anna up a flight of stairs to the balcony where the separate boys' and girls' rooms were, leaving the four ninja standing there dumbfounded.

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As the evening wore on, everyone retired to their rooms to get ready for bed. The girls quickly fell asleep, but back in the boys' room, an argument was in full swing.

"Doesn't it seem strange to you that a random girl just waltzes in, claims to know Sensei, and _boom_, just like that, she's a ninja!?" Kai argued.

"Aren't you being a bit harsh? I mean, give Anna a break!" Cole retorted.

"I would advise staying out of this," said Zane.

"Yeah. Wouldn't want to interrupt the two hot-heads," agreed Jay, yawning.

"Why should we even trust her?" Kai went on. "For all we know she could be a spy from Garmadon just waiting for the command to lead the whole skeleton army right to our base for an ambush!"

"Since when does Lord Garmadon work with humans? The only creatures that live in the Underworld are skeletons," Cole pointed out.

Kai just shrugged. "Anything is possible, you know. Plus, a ninja can't be too cautious, can he?"

The argument went back and forth like that for a few hours. Jay and Zane tried to get some rest, but it was nearly impossible with all the yelling Cole and Kai were doing.

"It's late, Kai. Can we please just forget this and go to bed?" Cole pleaded.

"She may have fooled all of you, but I know she's up to something," Kai warned. "I'm keeping an eye on her."

On that note, the arguing finally died down and everyone fell asleep.

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**A/N: So what do you think? Please review so I can improve, but no flames! If there's something you don't like, use constructive criticism. Anyways, I'll try to update once a week, so stay tuned and have a great day!**

**~ Shadow**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's Chapter 2, just like I promised! But first, I have a special guest here to do the disclaimer!**

**Me: Jay?**

**Jay: *playing a video game and clearly ignoring me***

**Me: Jay! Do the disclaimer!**

**Jay: Wait... let me finish this level.**

**Me: *rips the TV plug out of the wall***

**Jay: Hey! What did you do that for?**

**Me: *smiling evilly* Do the disclaimer or you'll never see your video games again!**

**Jay: Fine! ShadowNinja27 doesn't own Ninjago or anything in it! **

**Kai: *randomly comes into room* Because we're way too awesome for her!**

**Me: Kai! Where did you even come from? *pushes Kai out the door***

**Anyway, now on to the story!**

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**Chapter Two: **_**The Training Begins**_

Anna awoke with a start and almost fell out of bed. She reached over to the nightstand by her bed and hit the snooze button on Nya's alarm clock. "Do you guys _always_ wake up this early?" she asked Nya, who was just getting up. "It's 4:35 in the morning!"

Nya rubbed her eyes. "Hey, I'm not exactly used to it either, but we have to make the most out of every day, just in case Lord Garmadon decides to show his ugly face again."

After getting dressed, the girls walked down the stairs to the kitchen buffet table. Kai, Cole, and Jay were already there, scarfing down pancakes. Zane was bending over the stove in the corner, desperately trying to provide enough food for the starving boys. Jay glanced up from his mountain of pancakes just long enough to notice Anna and Nya taking a seat at the other end of the table.

"Well, well, well. Looks like the dead have finally arisen," he teased. Anna ignored him and grabbed a few pancakes off the stack.

"So, you two ready to start your training today?" asked Cole as he took an eighth serving of pancakes. Anna suddenly stopped eating in mid-bite.

"Wait, _two _of us?" she inquired. "I thought I was the only one going to be a ninja."

"Nya, you mean you haven't told her yet? You couldn't seem to wait to tell me last night," Kai said with slight annoyance in his voice.

Nya pushed bits of pancake around her plate with her fork, then looked up at Anna sheepishly. "Anna, there's a few things that I should tell you. A few hours before you came yesterday, Sensei asked me the same thing he asked you: if I wanted to be a ninja. I was so surprised that I didn't tell anyone at first. Then when you said you'd be a ninja, I figured I'd better tell everyone about my talk with Sensei. You were already asleep by then, and I didn't want to wake you up. I just told the boys, and I was going to tell you this morning. I guess I just … I forgot."

Anna didn't say anything for a few moments, then asked quietly, "So this means we're training together?"

"Yeah."

"That's awesome!" Anna jumped up. "I can't wait! When can we start?"

"Well," Cole pretended to ponder this. "How about you clean up the dishes, then meet me and Kai above deck?"

Normally, Anna would've argued about getting stuck with cleanup duty, but she was too excited to care. "You've got a deal!" she said, and rushed over to the sink to run the water.

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"Man, I can't believe how many dishes 6 people can make!" Anna groaned as she and Nya walked through the hallways on their way to meet Kai and Cole above deck. "I mean, if we really _are_ trying to make the most of our time until Garmadon attacks, couldn't we at least get a maid to do our cleaning?"

"I don't know," Nya shook her head. "I guess that's just another thing you'll have to get used to. The boys always dump all their responsibilities on me, just because I'm younger. There _is_ supposed to be a chores list around here somewhere, though..."

When the two trainees finally reached the deck, Anna was a little disappointed. There was nothing there – no shields, swords, or equipment at all. She didn't want to say anything, but her expression gave her away.

"Anna, is everything okay?" Cole sounded concerned.

"Yeah," she replied quickly. "But, I was wondering – isn't there supposed to be some training equipment around here somewhere?"

"I thought you'd ask that," Cole grinned. He pressed a small red button on a remote no bigger than a cell phone. Anna watched in wide-eyed amazement as a huge obstacle course erupted from the floor underneath their feet. It had so many features that Anna couldn't even count them all: hanging spiked balls on chains, rotating swords attached to a wall over spike pits, a line of various sized logs moving in and out of the floor, and practice dummies on a rotating platform – just to name a few.

"That is the coolest thing I ever saw in my life!" Anna said in awe.

"Yep, it's Jay's own little creation," Nya informed her.

"Can we use it now? Please? PLEASE?!" Anna was jumping up and down by now.

"Whoa, hold up," Cole chuckled. "I think that you both could be more productive in your training if we personally tutor you separately." He turned his attention to Kai.

"Hey, don't look at me!" Kai folded his arms. "I'm definitely _not_ going to have anything to do with this potential traitor!" He pointed an accusing finger at Anna.

"Fine, then!" Anna spat. "You're probably a terrible fighter anyway!"

Cole rolled his eyes. "Okay, so I take it that the unanimous vote is that Kai and Nya will train together, and I'll take Anna."

"Humph," Kai and Anna muttered and turned to move to separate sections of the training course.

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Anna sat on the section of deck near the bow of the ship, awaiting Cole's instructions. She was really anxious to practice her fighting skills on the dummies looming in front of her, but she decided to be patient. Cole finally reappeared out of the weapons closet under the staircase, toting armor and a helmet in his arms.

"Okay," he said, dropping the armor on the floor. "Before you can learn Spinjitzu, you've got to learn to attack with only your bare hands and feet – no weapons or anything. But I'll give you this armor, just in case. It should fit...go ahead, try it on!"

Anna fitted the heavy steel plates over her T-shirt and jeans. Then she set the helmet on her head, carefully adjusting the straps. It was sort of like an umpire's mask, with a cage across the face for protection. "When do I get a cool outfit?" she asked Cole, gesturing at his jet black ninja robes and hood.

"Oh, don't worry," there was a twinkle in his eye. "You'll get yours soon enough."

"I wish it were now," Anna muttered.

"Anyway," Cole continued, "You need to show me what you already know, then we'll go from there. So, now you can go ahead and attack those dummies."

"Finally!" Anna was so excited she jumped onto the rotating platform and barrel rolled under the first dummy's legs. Then, she got up and delivered a solid punch to the midsection of another. The next dummy had a chained mace in its hand. Without thinking twice, Anna grabbed the mace and swung it through the air, bringing it down hard on the dummy's head. Anna then made the mistake of letting her guard down for only a second. She didn't notice the post jutting out of the center pole. Her foot caught on it, and she flew off the platform, landing face-first on the deck. Cole rushed over to help her up.

"That was pretty impressive, Anna!" he exclaimed, clapping her on the shoulder. "But you need to remember, don't let your pride get the best of you. Then you'll miss important things – even if they are little – that will cause your downfall. In this case, literally!"

"Thanks," Anna breathed heavily. "I'll try harder next time."

In the mean time, on the other end of the deck, Nya was listening intently as her brother spoke.

"Balance is the key," he was saying. "Don't get distracted; instead, focus on the bigger picture."

Nya looked puzzled. "I'm not sure if I get what you're saying or not, but I'll try my best."

"That's all I expect," said Kai. "Now, I want you to center yourself and make it to the other side of the deck by balancing only on these posts," he pointed to the row of moving posts in front of him.

"Okay," Nya said, "here goes." She took a deep breath and jumped onto the first post. Right away, she almost lost her balance when the post shot up under her feet. "Balance," Nya whispered to herself, and leaped down onto the next post, considerably shorter than the first. She continued in this fashion until about halfway to the end.

"Pretty good!" Kai said, "but can you handle this?"

At that moment, Nya felt something fly past her ear, just narrowly missing her.

"Whoa, what was that?" she glanced over to see her brother picking up another wooden staff and aiming it at her. "WHAT!? You never said anything about throwing things at me, too!"

Kai only shrugged. "Hey, otherwise it would be too easy for you!" He pulled back his arm and let the staff go. This time, it found its target, hitting Nya on the shoulder.

"Ow! Kai, is this even safe? I mean, what kind of teacher trains his student by throwing wood at her?"

Kai threw more staffs that, luckily, Nya dodged. "I'm your brother! I'm allowed to do stuff like that!"

By this time, Nya was almost at the end of the course. She avoided another deadly projectile, but misjudged her step. She slipped and went down on the deck.

Kai strolled over, but he didn't help her up. He simply said, "Balance."

Nya rolled her eyes. "We are never _ever, _doing that again! You hear me?"

"Well, I thought it was a great lesson," Kai muttered as he and Nya walked towards the stairs.

Anna, Cole, and Sensei Wu were waiting for them when they got there.

"You have all trained hard," said Sensei Wu. "That is enough practice for today."

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"Wow, I'm beat! It feels like I've been training forever!" exclaimed Anna, collapsing on the couch.

"Yep, that's how it is being a ninja," replied Jay who had already been relaxing for hours.

"Hey, I wouldn't complain if I were you," said Nya, joining Anna on the couch. "At least you don't have a trainer who also happens to be your psychotic brother with a death wish for you." Anna stared at her and Nya quickly added, "Don't ask."

"Hey, I have an idea!" Kai said suddenly. "How about we play some video games?"

"Kai!" everybody yelled.

"What?" he asked.

"Can't we do anything else for a change?" asked Cole. "We played video games all day yesterday and the day before that!"

"Aw, c'mon, Cole," Kai whined, "don't be such a bummer! I guess we don't have to play _Fist to Face 2_ if you have any better suggestions."

Oh! I do!" shouted Jay. "Anyone up for some dancing, perhaps?"

Anna was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"_Just Dance 6_, of course! Great idea, Jay!" Kai gave Jay a high-five.

Anna's face lit up. She forgot all about being tired. "You really have _Just Dance 6_!?"

"Uh, duh," Kai rolled his eyes at Anna. "Of course we do. We're ninjas!"

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's Just Dance!" exclaimed Jay.

Kai ran over to the giant cabinet in the corner of the room to the left of the flat-screen TV. He flung open the carved oak doors, revealing shelves and shelves jammed full of every video game and DVD imaginable. After searching through the titles for a few moments, Kai grabbed a beat up blue and black case with block letters scrawled across the front and back. He removed the disc and shoved it into a small game slot under the base of the TV. Within seconds, the screen came to life with colors, and music blared from the hidden surround sound speakers in the walls. Kai grabbed a controller off of the coffee table. "I hope you guys are ready, because you're all going down! Nobody beats me at video games!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Anna's eyes glinted suspiciously. She felt a surge of energy pulse through her body. The last time she'd played this game was with her brother the night before he ran away. Anna vowed then to never play this game again. Still, playing it now – it didn't bring back painful memories like she had expected. It only provided Anna a renewed determination to find out what had happened to her brother. She confidently selected a controller from the table and waited for the game to begin.

"Hey, Anna," Nya nudged her, "I think you should pick the first song. After all, you are our guest."

"Sure. It would be a pleasure," said Anna. She scrolled down the list of songs, not sure which one to pick. Finally, she settled on "Break Free" by Ariana Grande. No one had ever beaten her at this song, and she wouldn't lose this time, either. "Everyone ready?" Anna asked the group. Then, without waiting for an answer, she started the song.

Everyone hummed along to the familiar tune and began to move in time with the beat as the steps appeared on screen. Nya and the ninjas' movements were perfectly in sync with the rhythm. Anna could tell they had definitely played this game many times before. She started to doubt herself. Maybe Kai was right. Maybe she _would _lose. Anna pushed the thoughts aside and forced herself to focus.

She danced her heart out for what seemed for hours. When the song was over, the results screen popped up. Anna held her breath as she read it. Cole was in fourth place, Zane in third, then – Anna gasped – Kai was second, and there was her name – in first! As soon as the rest of the ninja saw that the results showed that Kai was beaten, everyone cheered.

"Way to go, Anna!" Cole praised her. "Kai had the high score on that song for eons, but you destroyed it!"

"Yeah," agreed Jay. "It's about time Kai gets beat at something!"

Kai was the only one not celebrating. "It was just stupid beginner's luck!" he protested. "I'm picking the next song, and we'll just see how lucky you get then."

"Man, Kai, don't get so upset. It's just a game," Jay said.

"Whatever." Kai was already picking out another song.

After winning the next few songs, Kai's mood seemed to improve. "Ha ha! Told you guys! I'm the best!"

The six teenagers played for a few more hours until they had run through every song at least once.

Soon, they could smell interesting aromas wafting out of the kitchen area. Cole had excused himself about an hour earlier to go cook dinner, and now the whole Bounty was filled with the scents of everything from pot roasts to pies.

"I am _so_ starved!" Anna finally said.

"Yeah, me too. Let's go see if Cole's whipped up anything actually edible yet," Jay agreed.

Everyone tossed their controllers hastily onto the couch, then wandered over to the giant buffet table on the other side of the room and took the same seats in which they sat for breakfast. Sure enough, the whole table was crowded with serving dishes and platters full of all kinds of different foods. Many were too exotic-looking for Anna to recognize, but the thing she did notice right away was two cobblerberry pies – just like her mom used to make – sitting on a steaming plate still hot from the oven. The ninja were already piling their plates high with food, so Anna hurried to do the same. She didn't want to miss out on anything because at the rate the ninja were eating, Anna had a sinking suspicion that all this food would be gone in a matter of minutes.

The room was uncomfortably silent for a while, except for the sounds of chewing and silverware scraping against dishes. Then, after everyone evidently got their fill of homemade food, the silence was replaced with low chatter about the day's events.

"So," Nya asked Anna, "how'd you like your first day with the world-renowned Masters of Spinjitzu?"

Anna glanced over at the ninja, who were joking around and starting to throw some food at each other. Zane, however, didn't seem to get the others' jokes. He sat looking at them with a blank stare on his face. Anna had to laugh a little. Those four just looked like regular teenaged guys – hardly important at all. They certainly didn't seem like the type to be heroes, let alone the supreme guardians of Ninjago.

"It was great!" she replied. "I mean, I guess I miss my home a little, but I know this was the right thing to do. Mostly, though, I'm so glad that you're all so friendly!" _Well, almost all of you,_ Anna added silently.

Meanwhile, Kai was polishing off his fifth slice of pie. He loved cobblerberry so much, he figured he could live off it if he had to. But his thoughts were elsewhere. He just couldn't shake how he felt about Anna. Maybe the others were right and she was really just a nice girl. Maybe he was overreacting. But, there was a tiny part of Kai – a memory he couldn't quite grasp – that screamed Anna was danger.

_Stop! _He yelled at himself. He'd have to sort his feelings out later. Right now there were more pressing problems, like figuring out Lord Garmadon's next move. Or, better yet, training Nya to be the best ninja of all time (besides himself, of course).No matter how hard Kai tried, though, he couldn't get rid of his suspicions.

They even haunted him in his dreams. That night as he was asleep, scenes unfolded in his mind, like an old black-and-white movie. Kai watched as a family gathered together in their cramped kitchen after a hard day's work. Suddenly, he realized this wasn't just any family – it was his own family.

The baby crawling around the floor Kai guessed was himself. Since Nya was two years younger than him, Kai figured she hadn't been born yet. There were also three adults sitting around a small table, laughing and smiling as if they'd just shared a good joke. Kai knew instantly that the man and woman holding hands were his parents. He wasn't sure how he could tell since he didn't remember his parents, but he knew in his heart that the young couple was his mother and father.

Kai then focused on the other figure sitting there who didn't quite fit in. The lady couldn't be related to him, with her wavy, toasted caramel hair and her deep hazel eyes. Kai reasoned that she was probably a family friend by the way she was chatting with his parents.

Just as Kai was processing all this information, the scene fast-forwarded a few years. Kai now found his young self asleep in a dark room. In a cradle across from his bed, Kai saw a baby whom he identified as Nya snoring peacefully in her blankets.

All of a sudden, a small sliver of light appeared on the floor, coming from the doorway. Kai watched as a tall, slender figure tip-toed in. They didn't seem threatening at all. But as they moved towards the beds, nothing could have prepared Kai for what happened next.

Quickly and quietly, the mysterious figure scooped young Kai and Nya up in a blanket, climbed out the window, and ran with the two crying babies off into the shadows.

Kai sat bolt upright in his bed, his heart pounding. He finally understood why he never knew his parents. They hadn't died, as he'd been told, but instead, Kai and Nya had been taken from them.

The dream had also told him something else. With a sickening feeling in his gut, Kai realized the reason why he felt like he'd met Anna somewhere before and why he thought that she was bad news.

When Kai had been kidnapped as a child, he remembered one thing alone. He remembered peering out from the blankets wrapped around him and looking straight into a smiling face with hazel eyes framed in loose caramel curls – the face of Anna's mother.

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**A/N: Oh my gosh! What will happen? Seriously though, I'm sorry the story is a little slow so far. Please don't give up reading! I promise the next few chapters will be more exciting. Anyway, Read and Review, and I'll be back next week with the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi guys! I'm back with the newest chapter! First, though, I just want to thank all the people who reviewed my last chapters. It means so much to me as a new author! Now, the moment you've all been waiting for, Chapter 3!**

_**P.S. I do not own Ninjago.**_

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**Chapter Three: ****_Betrayed _**

Anna awoke to the sound of alarms blaring through the built-in intercom in her room. Immediately, she knew there must be trouble. She quickly threw on some comfy jeans and a T-shirt and hurried to the bridge.

Bursting into the room, Anna saw the ninja and Nya already huddled around a holographic projector discussing battle strategies. "Sorry I'm late," she panted. "So, what's the problem?"

Everyone turned to face her.

"Jeez, Anna," said Jay, throwing up his hands. "I thought you'd _never_ wake up! I mean, I had the alarm on full volume in your room for like, fifteen minutes! I know there's stories of people sleeping through stuff like explosions, but -" Cole glared at Jay and he shut up.

"Well, Anna, if you really want to know, we're having some trouble with skeletons. They're a little too close to the Bounty for comfort," Cole said.

"But it's nothing we can't handle," Kai said tensely. "By ourselves."

Anna crossed her arms. "What do you mean, you'll handle it 'by yourselves' ? You weren't seriously thinking of leaving Nya and me behind – were you?

"She does have a point," Cole agreed. "It would be the perfect opportunity for them to practice what they've learned so far."

Kai didn't budge. "No. Absolutely not. Under no circumstances are we taking _her_" he gestured to Anna "with us."

"Seriously, Kai? This again? What do you have against Anna?" Cole demanded.

"Well," Kai began.

"Don't answer that. The point is, I'm the leader, so what I say, goes. And I say Anna and Nya are coming with us, whether you like it or not."

"Fine! Let's go, Nya," Kai yelled, and stormed out the door. Cole and Anna followed closely behind, leaving Jay and Zane standing open-mouthed in the bridge.

Once outside, Kai and Cole each boarded their own dragon with Nya and Anna. After a few minutes of preparations, they took to the skies.

Cole and Anna rode in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Anna spoke. "Thanks for sticking up for me back there."

"No big deal," Cole smiled. "Kai and I fight all the time anyway. It was about time for us to go at it again."

"Still, what did I ever do to Kai to make him hate me so much?" Anna wondered aloud.

"Absolutely nothing," Cole spat. "Kai's just being a jerk. Don't take anything he says too seriously."

Anna tried to convince herself what Cole had said was true, but she still had an uneasy feeling that had nothing to do with Cole's awful flying skills. She may not know much, but she was certain of one thing: if this problem wasn't resolved soon, the whole team would fall apart.

"Looks like this is it," said Cole, breaking the silence. He pointed to a small clearing below the trees.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Anna asked incredulously. "It just looks like more trees to me."

"Positive," Cole replied. Then he added, "You might want to hold on." He jerked back on the reins, sending the earth dragon into a nosedive.

"Are you crazy?!" screeched Anna.

Cole grinned. "Relax. I know exactly what I'm doing."

Just when Anna was sure they were going to come in for a very hard landing, the dragon straightened out and touched down with a light thud.

Cole jumped to the ground. "Told you I got it covered."

Seconds later, the fire dragon landed in the clearing and let Kai and Nya off its back. They joined Cole and Anna, who were already beginning to search the forest.

The surrounding area was unnaturally quiet. Soon everyone began to feel a little on edge.

"Can we please just get out of here?" complained Kai, who was trying to stay as far away from Anna as possible.

"Yeah," agreed Nya. "This place gives me the creeps."

"Alright," Cole relented. "Maybe it was just a glitch in the radar again. I'll have to remind Jay to take a look at that when we get back."

Cole, Kai, and Nya started to turn back, but Anna stopped them. "Hold on, guys. We've only been out here for less than half an hour. Plus, they're just skeletons. You guys aren't seriously scared to fight, are you?"

Kai looked insulted. "Of course not!"

"Well, then, let's keep going," Anna said.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to look around a little bit more," Cole reasoned. "Besides, the scanner only picked up a few skeletons. We can take them no problem!"

Strangely, no one seemed to take comfort in that fact.

After a few more minutes of walking through the dense foliage, Anna began to get the distinct feeling that someone – or something – was following them. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of white.

_The exact color of a skeleton..._

By the time Anna figured out what was going on, it was too late to warn her teammates. With the sharp crack of branches and the clatter of bones, the entire skeleton army stepped out from behind the bushes. Their eyes radiated hatred, and they gave off an aura of pure evil. Each warrior wore mismatched armor and held a jagged steel blade, waiting for the order to attack.

"It's an ambush!" yelled Cole. "Everyone, retreat!"

The ninjas broke into a full sprint back the way they came. They didn't get very far before they ran smack into Generals Kruncha and Nuckal, the second and third in command of the army.

"I can't believe how easy this was," gloated Kruncha. "You ninjas walked right into our trap! This is going to be a piece of cake!"

"Cake?" Nuckal piped up, suddenly interested. "I don't see any cake. Did the ninjas bring it? Let me have a slice!"

"No, you idiot!" Kruncha whacked Nuckal over the head with his bone club. "That was just an expression!"

"But I'm really hungry..." Nuckal said with disappointment.

"Just attack!" Kruncha bellowed.

The ninja stood back to back, bracing themselves for a fight.

"Whatever happens, we fight together," said Cole.

"Right," Kai, Nya, and Anna agreed in unison.

At that very moment, the skeleton army surged forward with their weapons drawn and attacked.

The ninjas were quickly overwhelmed. No matter how fiercely they fought, there were too many skeleton warriors.

"Kai, if you have any bright ideas, now would be a great time to use them!" Cole called.

"I thought you were the one with all the ideas!" Kai argued.

"Well, someone think of something, because we're running out of options!" Nya said.

Just then, the skeleton Anna was fighting knocked the sword out of her hands. "Scratch that," she said as she backed away from her foe. "We are officially out of options."

Before Anna could get help from her fellow ninjas, General Wyplash and a few of his trained stealth skeletons sneaked up behind her, wrestled her to the ground, and tied her up. She tried to break free, but her bonds were so tight she could barely move.

"Cole! Nya! Someone, help!" she screamed as the skeletons dragged her away.

Cole turned and saw what was going on. "Anna! Hold on!" He tried to get to Anna, but the hordes of skeletons blocked his path.

"It looks like we're done here," laughed Kruncha. "Time to report back to Lord Garmadon."

Cole watched in horror as a swirling purple portal leading to who knows where appeared in the forest. The skeletons marched through, taking Anna with them.

"Cole! HELP!" she begged.

Sadly, there was nothing Cole could do as she was carried away into the darkness.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The whole ride back to the Bounty, Cole couldn't stop blaming himself for what happened earlier. "It's all my fault. I should have known that we were walking right into a trap."

"Cole, it going to be okay. Anna's tough. I'm sure she'll be fine until we can rescue her," Nya tried to reassure him.

"No. It's not okay," Cole said. "I'm supposed to be the leader. What kind of leader lets their own teammate get captured?"

"Right now, we need you to focus on the present. The past is the past," Nya insisted as Cole landed his dragon in the clearing where the Destiny's Bounty was anchored. Kai, who insisted on riding alone, landed next to them. Soon, all three ninjas were walking up the stairs to the Bounty's bridge.

Cole sighed. "I guess you're right, as always. It's time to go save Anna."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The first thing Anna noticed about the Underworld was the darkness. It wasn't like anything she had experienced before, but the best way she could describe it was oppressive. Even if it were lighter, Anna still wouldn't be able to see anything from her vantage point slung over a skeleton's shoulder.

The first glimpse Anna got of the Underworld was when she was dropped by her captor and prodded forward with his sharp blade.

The entire realm was lit with torches that burned with ominous purple fire, bathing the landscape in a sinister light. Several bone bridges connected small plateaus of land rising from the gloomy mist below. There was absolutely no vegetation, but the entire terrain was littered with piles of rocks and a few bones. When Anna looked up, the only thing she saw was more inky blackness.

As the skeletons led Anna deeper into the Underworld, she could see that they were taking her to the only structure she had seen so far. It looked like a medieval castle, only it was made of pure black marble and trimmed in bones. Anna had a feeling that she was about to find out why she was here.

When the army approached the castle, a huge wooden drawbridge was let down on black iron chains, spanning the chasm that secluded the evil stronghold. The skeletons marched straight over it to the heart of the castle. They finally stopped Anna in front of a large bone throne and cut her bonds. She tried to look for an escape route, but she didn't have many choices considering over a thousand armed skeleton warriors blocked the only exit.

Deep laughter echoed through the throne room, startling Anna. She turned her attention towards the throne and saw shadows beginning to solidify into a slightly human form.

"Lord Garmadon," Anna spat.

"Anna!" Garmadon exclaimed cheerily. "Fancy meeting you here! How was your trip down?"

"Oh, it was great," Anna replied sarcastically. "Especially the part where I got kidnapped by skeletons."

"I knew you'd enjoy it."

"Listen, Garmadon," Anna seethed, "I don't care about anything you have to say. I'd rather rot down here than do anything you tell me."

"Oh, what a shame," Garmadon said with mock sympathy. "Well, if you won't listen to me, maybe you'll listen to someone a little more personal."

As Garmadon spoke, Anna saw a woman emerge from the shadows behind the throne. At first she was a little hard to make out, but when she stepped into the light, Anna could clearly see her caramel hair cascading over her shoulders and her hazel eyes glittering with amusement. Anna gasped. There was only one person this mystery woman could be.

"Mom?!"

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**A/N: So, what do you think? I know it's kinda short, but it was my brother's birthday party today and I was really busy. **

** By the way, I am so sorry that last chapter I forgot to thank all those amazing people who reviewed, so I'll do it now:**

**Thanks to zella5752, ZaneLoverFan88 and a Guest for reviewing Chapter 1, and ZaneLoverFan88, KaiRulesSuckers and a Guest for reviewing Chapter 2. Reading all your comments really made my day!**

**\- In response to ZaneLoverFan88 - Oh my gosh! I didn't even realize that until you pointed it out! And I call myself a Ninjago fan... *mentally facepalms* Anyway, I don't think I can really do anything about that now, since I'm already at Chapter 3. But, you live and you learn, I guess.**

**Thank you all again, and I'll see you next week with Chapter 4! Until then, Read and Review!**

** ~ Shadow**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys! I know I left you on sort of a cliff hanger last chapter, so I won't talk much. I just wanted to say thank you in advance to all the people who reviewed so far! That's all, so now I'll let you get to the story!**

_**Note: I do not own Ninjago.**_

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**Chapter Four: _Mission Impossible_**

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Jay whispered to Cole as the four ninjas hid behind a clump of bushes on the outskirts of Jamanakai Village.

"It has to," Cole whispered back. "As soon as Nya comes back with the Traveler's Tea, we can go to the Underworld and rescue Anna."

"Remind me again why we can't just use our dragons," grumbled Kai. "Isn't that how we got to the Underworld last time?"

"I told you," Cole said frustrated, "the dragons are too tired from flying us around all day. They need to be at full strength to cross over into the Underworld, and we can't afford to wait any longer."

"But isn't that what we're doing right now? Waiting?" Kai argued.

"It's not like we have much of a choice," commented Zane.

"Yeah, Nya should be back any minute now," Jay added. "So just sit tight."

"It feels like all we're ever doing is sitting," Kai muttered. Of course, he wasn't necessarily anxious about rescuing Anna, but he still felt like they should actually be _doing_ something.

Besides, Kai was starting to reconsider his suspicions about Anna. She sure hadn't looked like a spy for the skeletons when she was dragged away in the forest. Then again, how would the skeletons have known where to find them if she wasn't a spy? Kai didn't have an explanation, but he did have a feeling that he'd find out soon.

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Nya was starting to get annoyed. She'd already been at Mystake's tea shop for half an hour, and she still didn't have the tea she needed. A few minutes later, Mystake returned from the storage room in the back.

"So do you have the Traveler's Tea?" Nya asked expectantly.

"All sold out," Mystake said gruffly. "Lady came in earlier this morning and must have bought my last jar."

Nya wasn't convinced. "Look, what's it going to take to get Traveler's Tea?" She planted her hands on her hips.

"I told you, little girl, I don't have any-" she stopped mid sentence as Nya threw a pile of gold coins on the table.

"Give me the Traveler's Tea," Nya demanded.

"There might be one jar left in my emergency supply," Mystake said sheepishly. "I'll go grab it for you." She swept the coins off the counter into her pocket, then ran back to the storage room. Seconds later, she returned and handed Nya a small glass jar filled with a strange gray powder. Mystake glanced around the room as if to make sure no one was watching, then pulled Nya closer.

"I don't usually sell my most dangerous teas to mere children," she whispered. "You know those who use Traveler's Tea are said to never return."

Nya shrugged Mystake's bony hand off her shoulder. "Thanks for the warning, but I'm sure I'll be fine." Then she turned and headed out of the shop to meet with the ninjas.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Okay, I have a really good one," Jay promised. "Why was the skeleton too scared to face the ninja?" He paused to create suspense. When no one answered, he blurted out, "because he had no guts! Huh? Huh?"

Cole and Kai groaned while Zane kept his eyes fixed on the village, waiting for Nya.

"Jay, you really need to stop telling jokes," Cole advised.

"Why because you're jealous of my awesome abilities?" Jay bragged.

Cole rolled his eyes. "No, it's because your jokes are so terrible that they could be your secret weapon. Just tell one on the battlefield and all your enemies would immediately fall down moaning and covering their ears."

"I was just trying to lighten the mood," Jay grumbled.

"Ugh, how long does it take to get a stupid jar of tea? I'm tired of waiting!" Kai complained.

Suddenly, Zane turned to face the other three. "There she is now," he said pointing at a small figure coming towards them. Everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

"About time," Kai said.

"Yeah, if I had to hear another one of Jay's lame jokes, I think I'd go insane," added Cole.

"Hey!" Jay protested.

As nonchalantly as they could, the ninjas got up from their hiding spot and sauntered over to meet Nya, trying not to attract much attention.

When they reached Nya, Cole asked, "Did you get the tea?"

As an answer, Nya produced a small jar filled with gray powder from a bag she was carrying. "You will not believe what it took for me to get this."

"Alright, I guess we owe you one later, but right now we have to figure out how to use this," Cole said.

"Oh, that won't be a problem," replied Nya. "I've seen Sensei Wu use Traveler's Tea before. I'm pretty sure I can handle it."

"Okay, so what do we do first?" asked Jay.

"Well, Traveler's Tea only works at a high altitude," said Nya.

"Then we're in the right place," Zane said. "The mountains surrounding Jamanakai Village are some of the highest points in Ninjago."

"What are we waiting for?" yelled Kai. "Let's get climbing!"

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"Finally, we're here!" Jay's voice rang out through the crystal clear air at the summit of a snow-capped mountain. "See, I told you we'd make it."

"What are you talking about?" Cole questioned. "The whole climb up you were complaining how it would take years to reach the top!"

While Jay and Cole were arguing, Nya looked around at their surroundings.

"This is perfect!" she exclaimed. "Now, let's get this tea started."

She bent down and cleared away some snow to reveal a small circle of partially dry ground. Then she took a few pieces of wood from her bag and arranged them campfire style on the ground. Looking up, she said, "Kai, will you do the honors?"

"Sure thing, Nya!" Kai drew his Sword of Fire and shot a bolt of white hot flames at the wood. The dry fuel hissed and smoked, igniting instantly. Everyone gathered close to the warmth except Zane, who seemed completely unaffected by the near-freezing temperatures on the mountain. Nya took two last items from her bag: a tea kettle from the Bounty and the precious jar of Traveler's Tea.

Setting the tea down gently, she filled the kettle with snow. As soon as she placed the kettle over the fire, the snow inside melted into fresh water. When the water reached a boil, Nya removed the kettle from the fire, sprinkled the Traveler's Tea in, and replaced the kettle's lid.

"This is the most important part, guys. I need you all to stand close together around the fire," Nya directed. "As soon as I pour the tea around us, a portal to the Underworld should appear, but it will only grant access to those inside the circle I pour."

The ninjas did what Nya said, and she poured the tea around them, being careful to stay within the circle herself. Right after she poured the last drop, the wind began to pick up, and suddenly a giant, swirling portal appeared in front of them, identical to the one they saw in the forest.

Everyone stared at it for a few seconds, then Jay asked, "Do you think this will take us straight to Garmadon's dark fort?"

"There's only one way to find out," said Cole with determination. He dove through the portal, followed closely by the other ninjas and Nya, until all that was left on the mountain was a small, slowly dying fire and an empty tea kettle.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kai wished he had never stepped through that portal. After all, why did he care what happened to Anna? But still, here he was, hurtling through the darkness at nauseating speeds. He glanced around trying to get his bearings, but there was nothing to see. Just when he thought he'd be falling forever, his body connected with solid ground. He slowly sat up, rubbed his head, and asked, "Where are we?"

Kai could see his fellow ninjas sprawled out around him, trying to get up.

Cole was the first one to recover. "It looks like we're in the right place," he said, glancing at their gloomy surroundings.

"Yeah, but how did we even survive that fall?" Jay questioned as he brushed dust off his ninja suit.

"That doesn't matter," said Cole. "We have to find where Garmadon's keeping Anna."

"Like maybe the giant fort that we happen to be standing on top of?" guessed Jay.

"What?"

Only then did the ninjas realize that they were not on the ground. By sheer luck, the Traveler's Tea had deposited them on the west turret of Garmadon's fortress.

Peering over the edge, Kai could spot skeletons carting supplies over the drawbridge into the fort, or simply milling around the plaza.

"We're definitely not going to be able to get in the main entrance," Kai pointed out.

"Then we'll just have to find another way in," Cole said.

Everyone crouched down and started scouring the floor for some sort of trap door. Finally, a panel of the floor slid away, revealing a staircase leading into blackness.

No one made a move to enter.

Then, Jay cleared his throat. "Uhh...ladies first?" he said to Nya.

She scowled at him. "Oh, why thank you, Jay. You are such a gentleman," she said sarcastically, and started down the narrow passageway. The ninjas followed her, single file, descending flights into the darkness.

After what seemed like an eternity, a small rectangle of dim purple light appeared in front of them. One by one, the ninjas climbed through the opening into a spacious room. Realizing they were exposed in the open, the ninjas ducked behind a large bone pillar and scanned their surroundings.

"Look, there's Anna!" Cole exclaimed as he pointed to their missing teammate standing in the center of the room.

"Yeah, and there's Garmadon," Jay whispered, gesturing to the throne where the Lord of Shadows sat looming over Anna.

"What are we going to do now?!" Nya panicked. "We can't risk getting spotted, or we won't be any better off than Anna!"

Kai, however, wasn't so concerned with their predicament. His gaze was transfixed on the woman standing next to Garmadon. "No..." he breathed. "It can't be."

It was the same woman from his dream – Anna's mother.

Feelings of anger, confusion, and resentment washed over Kai, but for once in his life, he was able to keep his emotions in check.

From where he was positioned, Kai could just barely make out a few words of the conversation between Anna and her mother. He leaned forward as much as he could and strained to hear more of the discussion.

"Mom?!" Anna was saying. "Why – how – what are you doing down here with Garmadon?"

Anna's mother started to speak, but Garmadon broke in and answered for her. "Oh, you'll find that Lillian is working for me now."

"What?" Anna asked in wide-eyed horror.

"Anna, honey..." Lillian tried to explain. "There's so much more at stake here than you realize."

"Oh, really?" Anna said incredulously. "Like what?"

Lillian sighed. "Look, I'm only doing this so your father-" she stopped abruptly, realizing what she had just said. It was too late, though.

Anna had already heard enough. "You know something about Dad?! He's alive? Where is he, then?"

"The point is, you're too powerful," Lillian tried to quickly change the subject.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Anna yelled.

"The last time children were born into the line of those trained in the way of the First Spinjitzu Master, they had to be...taken care of," Lillian explained. "They were too powerful to be allowed to stay with their family."

"Wait – kids of someone just as powerful as the First Spinjitzu Master? Who?"

"I'm sure you're familiar with Kai and Nya, right?" Lillian asked.

At that point, Kai couldn't stand it anymore. Completely disregarding the fact that he was supposed to stay hidden, Kai charged towards the throne, yelling, "What did you do to my parents?!"

Lord Garmadon just laughed. "So, Kai, you were foolish enough to follow my skeletons here? Where's the rest of your team, boy?"

"They're still back at the surface," Kai lied, not wanting to get his friends in further trouble. "I'm the only one that came."

He shot Nya and the others a look that said, _Get out. Now._ He figured that there was a way back to the surface around here somewhere, and he had faith that Nya would be able to find it. Kai watched his teammates sneak away into the darkness, then turned back to face Lillian.

"Kai, your parents were great people, and I was very close friends with them," Lillian began.

"I don't want to hear it, you witch!" Kai shouted. "Just fess up already. What did you do to my parents?"

Lillian winced at Kai's tone. "I did absolutely nothing to them."

"Right," Kai said disbelievingly. "Okay, so then where are they?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you."

Kai balled his fists. "You better tell me something, or else you'll be in for a world of hurt!"

"Okay, fine!" Lillian said, holding up her hands. "All I did on that night many years ago was merely separate you and your sister from your parents. Trust me, it was for the better."

"For who?" Kai seethed. "Me or you?"

"For everyone!" Lillian replied, slightly loosing her cool. "You don't know what I know, Kai. It's not your fault, and I know you can't change who you are, but you and Anna have to stay here."

Now it was Anna's turn to start yelling. "What? I didn't really understand much of what you just said, but I am most definitely not staying here!"

Lillian looked close to tears. "I'm sorry, Anna, but this has to be done. I hope you'll be able to forgive me someday."

Then she said in a louder, more confident voice, "Guards! Lock these two up in the dungeon and make sure they don't escape!"

Before Kai and Anna had time to react, skeletons emerged from the darkness on all sides and seized them. Kai and Anna were tied up and gagged, then the skeletons dragged them, kicking and screaming, deeper into the castle.

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**A/N: So, what do you all think? I hope I didn't make it too confusing. I know this chapter left a lot of things unanswered, but don't worry! Everything will be explained eventually (I hope!). **

**A gigantic thanks to the people that reviewed last chapter: ZaneLoverFan88, zella5752, Darkrainbow, and KaiRulesSuckers. Your reviews help me keep on writing, and I'm so glad that you guys enjoy it so far!**

**Response to Reviews:**

**ZaneLoverFan88 - Thanks for telling me I'm not alone! It made me feel a lot better!**

**Darkrainbow - Your OC sounds awesome! I don't really know if I can fit her into the story, but I'll think about it. Thanks anyway!**

**KaiRulesSuckers - That is pretty catchy...I like it!**

**Again, thank you so much, and I'll see you all next week with Chapter 5!**

**~Shadow**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hi there guys! I hope you guys liked the last chapter. I know it might not have been one of my best. A big thanks to all the people who favorited/followed my story so far. You guys are awesome! And now here's your reward: the next chapter!**

_**Note: I do not own Ninjago.**_

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**Chapter Five: **_**Escaping the Darkness**_

Anna didn't know what to think anymore. In the past twenty-four hours, she had experienced more shock and confusion than she ever had in her entire life. Being kidnapped by skeletons, dragged to the Underworld, and seeing her mother working for Garmadon was just too much for Anna to handle. Now, as she sat in a cold and damp prison cell in Garmadon's fortress, she felt more alone than ever. Of course, Kai had been thrown into the prison cell with her, but she doubted he would provide her with much comfort.

Anna couldn't hold her emotions back any longer. Completely against her will, she began to sob quietly, her whole body shaking uncontrollably. She hated hearing her soft cries echoing through the darkness and tried unsuccessfully to calm herself down. A few minutes later, Anna heard a rustling noise to her left. She felt a hand on her shoulder and gasped in surprise.

"Relax, it's only me," she heard Kai say, even though she couldn't see him. He paused then said, "You okay?"

"No."

"Look, Anna, don't be so upset. We'll get through this together, I promise," soothed Kai.

"Easy for you to say!" Anna tried to make her voice sound strong. "You didn't just get thrown into a dungeon by your own mother! And what do you mean by 'we'?"

"I don't even know if my parents are alive or not, so what's your point? Like it or not, this is as much about my family as it is yours. We're in this together. If we just sit around here feeling sorry for ourselves, we're not going to accomplish anything," Kai insisted.

"Okay then, what do you suggest? Let's hear it," Anna challenged.

"Well, I don't exactly have a plan," Kai admitted, then he quickly added, "but I'm sure we'll think of something as we go. The whole reason they locked us up is because we're supposedly really powerful or something, right?"

"I guess so. But you know as well as I do that neither of us are any better than the other ninjas," Anna sighed.

"That doesn't matter," said Kai. "Let them believe what they want to believe. Maybe we can use their fears against them."  
"I see what you're talking about!" Anna grinned. "First of all, though, how are we going to get out of this cell? Garmadon put his best skeleton generals in charge of guarding us."

"Yeah, but even the best skeletons are still dumber than dirt!" Kai joked. "We can get out of here faster than you can say Ninja-go!"

"So you have a plan?" Anna questioned.

"Of course I do! Just follow my lead."

Kai cleared his throat, then yelled, "Hey, all you skeletons! You better drop your weapons right now if you know what's good for you!" As he spoke, the smooth walls of the dungeon reflected his voice so it sounded like it was coming from all directions.

Anna caught on and added, "You heard him! You might as well give up right now, because we have you surrounded!" Her words also sounded as if they was spoken by ten people instead of one.

Anna could hear the clatter of bones as the skeletons guarding her cell panicked. Then she heard the clang of metal and finally a loud thud.

Kai's plan had actually worked! In the darkness, the skeletons must have attacked each other, thinking he was a ninja. Before they could figure out what was really happening, they had knocked each other unconscious.

Meanwhile, Kai felt around outside the cell until he found one of the skeleton's key ring. Once he found it, he grabbed it and threw it to Anna.

"What did I say?" Kai grinned as Anna carefully unlocked their cell door. "Easy-peasy."

I wouldn't be so sure," warned Anna. That was only the beginning."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Nya still felt bad about leaving her brother and Anna alone with Garmadon. But, it wasn't like she had much of a choice. Plus, she had faith that Kai would figure something out.

Right now, though, she had to concentrate on getting the other ninjas back safely to the surface. Kai was counting on her.

So far, they had managed to safely escape the throne room back into the secret passage they came in, but they weren't in the clear yet. Still, Nya figured they'd be fine as long as no one made any noises…

"Hey, Nya!" Jay's loud whisper cut through the silence like a knife. "I was wondering, how exactly are we going to escape…mfff!"

Nya covered Jay's mouth with her hand before he could say any more.

"Quiet!" she hissed in his ear. "Do you want to let every single skeleton in the Underworld know we're here?"

"Sorry…"

"Look, the plan is simple. The only two beings that can create portals leading to and from the Underworld are skeletons and dragons, right? So since we don't have our dragons at the moment, all we have to do is force a skeleton to create a portal for us," Nya explained.

"Oh is that all?" Cole said sarcastically. "Sounds real simple."

After a few more minutes, the ninjas came to the end of the passageway.

"Here we are. Everyone, stay back until I say so," ordered Nya.

Slowly and carefully, Nya lifted the trapdoor a few inches. She scanned the turret, finding only one pair of bony feet.

Good. The guard was alone.

Nya turned back around and whispered as quietly as possible, "Okay, guys, wait for it…wait for it…now!" She threw open the trapdoor and charged towards the skeleton. Before the guard could even cry out in alarm, the four ninjas had him pinned to the ground with a hand over his mouth and Cole's Scythe of Quakes pressed against his throat.

"Listen up, skeleton. You're going to do exactly as we say or you won't like the results very much," Cole growled. He jabbed his scythe harder against the skeleton's throat for emphasis.

"Our offer is very simple," Nya added. "All you have to do is make us a portal back to the surface and we'll let you go free."

The skeleton just laughed. "Ha! Why would I ever do what a ninja told me to? Let me make you a deal. Do me a favor, and I'll make you your portal. If you don't, well, I'll let the entire Underworld know you're here. You wouldn't want that, now would you?"

"Fine," Nya gave in. She gestured for the ninjas to release the skeleton. "What's your favor?"

The skeleton grinned evilly. "I want you to get rid of Garmadon's child."

"Lloyd?" Cole asked. "I know he can be a pain in the butt sometimes, but what harm can he possibly do?"

"Not much on his own," the skeleton agreed. "The problem is, he's Garmadon's favorite. If we don't get rid of him before he gets older, Garmadon will put him in charge of our army. And we can all see how that's going to turn out."

"If you're really that worried, then why can't you get rid of him on your own?" questioned Nya.

"Don't you know anything?" the skeleton scoffed. "If any of us even laid a finger on Garmadon's precious boy, there's no telling what he'd do to us. But he already hates you ninjas. Besides, this way you can rid Ninjago of one more menace, if you can even call Lloyd that."

"I guess it couldn't hurt," Cole reasoned.

"Yeah, it would be nice to get the little brat under control for once," Jay agreed.

"I'll even sweeten the deal by bringing Lloyd right to you," said the skeleton. "Just wait here." He slipped down the passageway that the ninjas had emerged from a little while before. Then, a few minutes later, he emerged again with Lloyd following close behind him.

As soon as Lloyd saw the ninjas, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Wait, what's going on here?" he demanded. "What are these ninjas doing in the Underworld?!"

"Sorry, kid," the skeleton said roughly, "but you're going with them."

"What? But you told me there would be candy out here!" Lloyd yelled.

"Yeah, about that," said the skeleton. "I lied. See you around, losers!"

He snapped his fingers, and a huge portal appeared behind the ninjas. Then he shoved Lloyd into the ninjas, causing them to lose their balance, and the entire group fell backwards into the portal.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"C'mon, Anna, hurry up!" Kai whispered. "We have to find Nya and the others!"

"How are they supposed to help us?" Anna whispered back. She pulled Kai behind a weapons rack to avoid getting spotted by a passing guard.

"How should I know? Just follow me and stay in the shadows. We're about to enter Garmadon's throne room."

If there was one perk of being a ninja, Anna thought, it was being trained in stealth. She and Kai successfully made it to the secret passageway in the throne room without getting spotted. Silently, Anna opened the door, and she and Kai took the stairs inside two at a time.

When they reached the top, Anna didn't bother to check the turret for skeletons. She pushed open the trapdoor and jumped out, followed by Kai.

"Look, Kai!" Anna said excitedly. "There's our ticket out of here!" She pointed to the far end of the turret, where the rest of their team stood in front of a portal most likely leading to the surface.

"Yeah, but did you notice that skeleton warrior standing in between us and the portal, or did you just happen to overlook that fact?" Kai asked.

"If you don't quit complaining and hurry up, we'll ever make it!" Anna said. She grabbed Kai's arm and started running towards the portal. At the same time, the skeleton shoved a small child – was that Lloyd? – towards the ninjas and Nya, and they all fell into the portal.

"We have to follow them!" Anna cried. "Kai, get a move on!"

"We're never going to make it!" Kai panted.

"Oh, yes we will!" Anna said. "Jump!"

Kai and Anna threw themselves in the general direction of the portal, but while they were still in mid-air, it closed. Both ninjas landed face-first on the hard stone floor, moaning.

When they finally stood up, they froze. Staring back at them were dozens of skeleton warriors who didn't look too pleased seeing that their prisoners were no longer in prison.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Did you really think you could escape?" Garmadon bellowed from his throne. "I know about everything that goes on in my realm!"

"Save it, Garmadon!" Anna yelled. "I don't care how many times you throw Kai and me in jail. We'll just keep escaping again and again!"

"Then maybe we can just finish you right now," Garmadon shot back.

"No!" said Lillian desperately. "We need to keep them alive!"

"Why would you care, 'mother'? Or should I even call you that?" spat Anna.

"Of course I care!" said Lillian. "I only want what's best for you!"

Anna looked as though she was about to explode. "That's a lie and you know it!" She backed away from Lillian until she was standing next to Kai. "One way or another I'm getting home. And there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

As soon as she said that, a strong wind started to rip though the room they were in.

"What is she doing?" Garmadon yelled to be heard over the sound of the howling winds.

Everyone in the room looked extremely nervous, including Anna herself. The winds seemed to be gathering around her and Kai, and Anna couldn't figure out why. She shut her eyes tight, grabbed Kai's hand, and said in a small voice, "I have no idea what's going on, but no matter what, just don't let go of my hand."

Just when the winds reached such high speeds that they threatened to rip apart the whole fort, there was a flash of light that temporarily blinded Garmadon and Lillian. When they regained their vision, they looked all around the room, but Anna and Kai were gone.

* * *

**A/N: I know, I left off on another sort-of cliffhanger. I really do love you guys, but that just seemed like a good place to end it to me. Also, I'm sorry if that was short, I was kinda rushed when I wrote it.**

**Anyways, big, big thanks to all those who reviewed: ZaneLoverFan88, Ninjawuvr123, and Darkrainbow. Thanks so much!**

**That's all I got, so Read and Review, and I'll see you later!**

**~Shadow**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six:**_** The Power Within**_

Lord Garmadon and Lillian frantically scoured the throne room for any signs of either Anna or Kai. It seemed as if they had disappeared into thin air, but of course that wasn't possible – was it?

When Garmadon realized that his two prisoners were obviously not anywhere to be found, he jabbed his finger at Lillian.

"This is all your fault!" he yelled furiously. "We should have killed those brats when we had the chance!"

"And what exactly would that accomplish?" Lillian asked. "You were the one who had those two locked up together! What were you thinking? You know that they gain power from each other!"

"Yes, but I didn't expect them to be experienced enough to actually use it!" Garmadon countered.

"What kind of excuse is that? Are you forgetting the only reason I'm working for you? If it weren't for Anna and Kai's power, I'd be long gone!"

"But, no matter how hard we try, we can't change the past," Garmadon pointed out. "And unless you never want to see your husband again, I suggest you keep your loyalties with me. Now, go assemble the skeletons. I don't care if you have to search all of Ninjago, but don't come back until you have Kai and Anna in your possession!"

"You may have me completely under your control for now, but just you wait," Lillian threatened. "As soon as you uphold your end of the deal, you'll be sorry you ever messed with my family."

Lillian spun on her heel and stalked out of the room, slamming the heavy stone doors behind her as she left.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The last thing Anna remembered was standing in front of Garmadon in the Underworld. She couldn't clearly picture the events that had happened next. Screaming at her mother, the winds picking up, the blinding light – it all blurred together like a bad dream. Anna figured she must have blacked out then, because she couldn't recall anything that happened after that.

When she came to, Anna found that she was at Mega Monster Amusement Park, standing in front of the Ferris wheel. She smiled at the thought of all the memories her family had shared here when she was younger. A few small kids raced past her to get in line, but other than that, nobody gave Anna a second glance.

Then Anna realized that she had no idea how she got here. She noticed that Kai was standing next to her just as he was in the Underworld, his eyes shut tight and his hand still clamped on hers. Anna nudged him slightly, and he opened his eyes.

When he saw that they weren't in the Underworld anymore, he gasped. "What the –? What happened? Why are we in an amusement park?"

"I have absolutely no idea in the slightest," Anna answered. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Well, we were in the Underworld confronting Garmadon, and it got windy, then there was this light, and – that's it. I can't remember anymore."

"Same with me," agreed Anna. "I just don't know."

"You don't think you teleported us out of the Underworld somehow, do you?" Kai asked in a hushed voice.

"That's crazy!" Anna laughed, but she sounded nervous. "The only beings that can go to and from the Underworld at will are skeletons and dragons, and even they have to create portals first."

"Then how do you explain those winds? I'm pretty sure that it usually doesn't get windy indoors. And what about that light? Where did that come from?" Kai questioned.

"Hey!" The Ferris wheel operator's voice snapped Kai and Anna back into reality. "Either get in line, or move out of the way so the other paying customers can get through!"

"Oh! Sorry, sir," Anna apologized. She and Kai then walked away from the ride towards the exit.

"I don't know what's going on," Anna said to Kai, "but I know who does. We have to get back to the Bounty and find Sensei Wu. Hopefully he can tell us what's going on. We can also meet up with the rest of our friends, assuming that they made it back somehow."

"That sounds like a great plan, but do you actually have any idea how to get to the Bounty from here?" Kai asked.

"We're looking for a giant flying ship in the middle of the forest," Anna said. "How hard can it be to find?"

"I don't know," doubted Kai. "Sounds to me a lot like searching for a needle in a haystack."

Anna sighed. "Come on! If we keep walking, we're bound to get there eventually."

"Okay," Kai gave in. "Let's go then. We have a long walk ahead of us."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

By the time Kai and Anna got back to the Bounty, the sun was already starting to set. As they approached their home, the two saw their friends waving to them from the deck of the ship. Kai and Anna ran the rest of the way to the Bounty, eager to see the people from whom they had been separated for so long.

The rest of the team had the same idea and dashed to meet Anna and Kai before they even got to the ship.

"You're alive!" Nya shouted as she embraced her brother. "I was so worried…"

"It was nothing." Kai shrugged. "You should have seen me, though. I came up with the most brilliant plan, outsmarted Garmadon, and –"

Anna kicked him in the shin and glared at him.

"Oh, and I guess Anna helped out a little bit, too," Kai added.

"But how did you get out of the Underworld?" Cole wondered aloud.

"That's what we want to ask Sensei," Anna replied, "because we have no idea."

"You'll have to save your question for later," Zane said. "Sensei Wu isn't here."

"Not here?" Anna said. "Do you have any idea where he is?"

"Not really," Cole admitted. "He was gone when we got here."

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," said Jay. "He probably just left to get supplies, or maybe some tea. You know how Sensei loves his tea."

"While we wait for him, why don't you and Kai tell us about what happened," Cole suggested to Anna. "You have to have some idea of how you got back."

"Okay, I guess we can tell you, but I'm not sure you'll be able to make sense of it either," said Anna.

She then told her friends everything that had happened to her and Kai, from the time she got kidnapped to when they mysteriously arrived at Mega Monster Amusement Park.

When she finished, the expressions on her friends' faces looked even more shocked and confused than when she had started.

"See? I tried to tell you that you wouldn't understand," Anna said.

"You'd be better off not worrying about it," Kai advised. "The important thing is that we're all here now, safe and sound."

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the air, coming from below the decks.

"What was that?" asked Anna.

"That would be our 'guest'," Jay groaned.

"Who?"

"Lloyd," Jay said. "But before you yell at us, I just want to say for the record, we didn't really have much of a choice."

"I can't stand that kid!" Nya complained. "You can't even leave him alone for five minutes without him breaking or ruining something!"

"I wonder what he's gotten himself into this time?" Cole sighed.

"I just hope he hasn't burned down the whole downstairs by now," Jay muttered.

The ninjas raced down the stairs towards the place where they last heard the crashing noises. When they entered the game room, the ninjas saw that the cabinet that held all their video games had fallen over, and all the games had spilled out all over the floor. Standing beside the mess, looking as innocent as possible was Lloyd Garmadon.

Lloyd took one glance at the angry looks the ninjas were giving him, and immediately he started to explain himself. "All I was trying to do was get a few video games because I am sooo bored!" he said. "How was I supposed to know that the entire cabinet was going to fall over on me? Luckily, I jumped out of the way before I got crushed."

"Oh yeah. Lucky us," Kai said sarcastically.

Jay, however, was pretty upset. "Do you know how long it took me to organize all those games? Weeks! I'll never be able to get them in alphabetical order like that again! Not to mention that half of the discs are probably cracked beyond repair from having a giant cabinet fall on them! I spent my entire life savings buying all of those!"

"Okay, Jay, we get it," Anna said, stepping between him and Lloyd. "You know what? How about all you guys go get some rest or something? I'll clean up here."

Reluctantly, the ninjas left, one by one, until Anna was alone with Lloyd.

Completely out of nowhere, a saying her dad used to tell her a lot popped into Anna's head: "_The best way to defeat your enemy is to make him your friend". _ Anna didn't know why she thought of that just now, but she was glad she did. She felt that the saying applied perfectly to her situation right now.

As Anna picked up the cracked discs off the floor, she said, "You know, Lloyd, I think I know how you feel."

"What are you talking about?" snapped Lloyd. "No one understands me. I'm no good at being good, and when I try to be evil, people like those stupid skeletons just take advantage of me then betray me! It's not fair."

"Believe me, I don't always do the right thing either," said Anna, thinking about all the times she had tried to get revenge on her little brother because she was jealous of the attention her parents gave him. "And I have plenty of experience with betrayal," she continued, remembering her mother giving the order to lock her in the dungeon. "I think we have a lot more in common than you think," she finished.

"Maybe," Lloyd mumbled, "but now I'm stuck here. I think I'll die of boredom if I don't leave soon."

"You'll get used to it sooner or later. Trust me, the ninjas are really great, once you get to know them," Anna promised. "It's pretty late, so why don't you go to sleep? Maybe you'll feel better tomorrow."

Anna continued cleaning up the video games, placing the undamaged discs into the cabinet she had stood back up. After working for a little while longer, Anna looked over to see what Lloyd was doing.

He was already out like a light, snoring softly as he slept on the couch.

Anna smiled. This kid wasn't so bad, after all.

* * *

**A/N: I know, pretty short, but hopefully it was still good. Thanks to my awesome reviewers: ZaneLoverFan88, NinjaMelissa, and HiroKaiMarc. Also, thanks even if you just read my last chapter and didn't review! ;)**

**Response to Reviews:**

**ZaneLoverFan88: No, but you'll see soon enough...**

**NinjaMelissa: Not exactly...but sort of!**

**Please Read, Review, and check back next week for Chapter 7!**

**~Shadow**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hi guys! How's it going? Anyways, here's Chapter 7, so I hope you enjoy!**

_**Note: I do not own Ninjago.**_

* * *

**Chapter Seven:_ Mischief_**

Anna yawned and blinked at the bright sunlight streaming through the window in her room. She glanced at her alarm clock. 9:25. That was strange. Usually Anna was woken up at crack of dawn for training or something like that. She wasn't too concerned, though. Maybe today she could just relax and not have to worry about anything.

That feeling only lasted for a few minutes.

Just when she was ready to head to breakfast, she heard an loud bang followed by yelling. She couldn't make out much of the conversation, but the one word she heard was enough to make her take the stairs two at a time: "LLOYD!"

Anna ran into the kitchen where all the commotion was coming from.

Cole was standing in front of the oven, covered head to toe in a sticky substance that looked curiously like muffin batter. Anna followed his gaze and saw Lloyd standing in the corner of the room trying unsuccessfully to stifle his laughter. A few small firecrackers were sticking out of his back pocket.

"What in Ninjago is wrong with you?!" Cole was shouting. "Those muffins were supposed to be our breakfast!"

"Aw, don't get so upset, Cole," Lloyd said back. "I was just trying to add some excitement to your cooking. Believe me, it needs it."

Cole looked furious. "You're going to pay for that, you little-"

But Lloyd had already slipped out of the room.

"Um...what's going on here?" Anna asked.

"What's going on is that devil child put firecrackers in my apple cinnamon muffins when I wasn't looking! He could have blown up the entire kitchen!" yelled Cole.

Anna sighed. "I'll go talk to him."

"Don't waste your breath," Cole advised. "It's not like that brat is going to listen to you."

Anna ignored him and went to find Lloyd. Fortunately, he wasn't that hard to locate. All she had to do was follow the angry shouts that were coming from the game room.

Once she got to the game room, Anna saw Jay sitting on the couch holding a game controller. Everything looked pretty normal.

"Anna!" Jay exclaimed once he saw her. "Get over here and help me out!"

"But you look fine to me," Anna said. "I don't understand what the problem is."

Jay shook his hands, but the controller stayed stuck to them no matter how hard he tried.

Anna had already seen enough to figure out what was going on.

"Let me guess. Lloyd put super glue on your controller, and when you went to play a video game, your hands got stuck. Am I right?"

Jay nodded. "That kid is a pain in the butt. Can we please give him back to Garmadon?"

"No. No matter how hard it is, we need to at least try to train him. Sensei would want us to, I'm sure."

She paused and looked down at Jay's hands.

"I don't know what to tell you about your hands, but you'll figure something out. I'll go find Lloyd."

Anna rushed out of the room and down the hallway.

On her way to the bridge, she ran into Zane.

"Good morning, Anna," Zane greeted.

"Hey, Zane. Have you seen Lloyd anywhere?" asked Anna.

"Not recently. But I expect that he is up to no good."

"Oh," Anna said, her face falling. "Thanks anyway. Lloyd hasn't pranked you yet, has he?"

Zane thought for a moment. "Well, this morning, Jay and I were going to practice sword-fighting before breakfast. However, when I got to the deck, I couldn't find any of the equipment. Jay said it was probably just misplaced somewhere, but now that I think about it..."

"Why does that child have to be so difficult?" Anna said under her breath. Then she added, "See you later, Zane," and dashed down the hall.

Anna rushed to the bridge. When she got there, though, she froze in her tracks.

Nya was standing in front of the controls, just as she always was. Still, something was different about her. Instead of her hair color being jet-black like usual, her hair was platinum blonde.

Anna didn't know what to say. "Nya, your hair looks..."

Nya turned around and Anna could see that she had clearly been crying. "I know, it's hideous. And it's all Lloyd's fault! When I get my hands on him, he's going to be sorry that he ever messed with me!"

Anna held up her hands. "Whoa, slow down. Start from the beginning. What exactly happened?"

Nya sighed. "I was just washing my hair this morning, and I grabbed the same shampoo bottle that I always use. The shampoo smelled a little funny, but I didn't think much of it. By the time I realized that the bottle was filled with hair dye and not shampoo, it was too late. My hair's ruined!"

Anna tried to comfort her friend. "It's not ruined. In fact, I think it actually looks pretty. Plus, you could always just dye it back to its original color."

Nya smiled. "Thanks, Anna. I guess you're right."

"Of course I am. By the way, have you seen Lloyd anywhere?"

"Actually, I have. He was headed towards the game room, but I was too embarrassed about my hair to follow him. That's why I've been in the bridge all morning," Nya replied.

"Okay. I'll go talk to Lloyd for you, then," Anna said, and she ran back the way she came.

However, when she got to the game room, Lloyd was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Anna found the four ninjas sitting around the television playing a video game – probably _Fist to Face_ _2_ or something.

Cole looked up as he saw Anna enter the room. "Hey, where have you been? You want to join us? We have an extra controller."

"Thanks, but I'm actually looking for Lloyd," said Anna. "Have you seen him?"

"That little brat?" Kai said, still focused on the game. "Why would you want to see him?"

"None of your business," Anna snapped, but she wasn't really angry. "Could you please just tell me where he is? I'm sure you've seen him."

"Fine," Kai gave in. "He was here a few minutes ago, but I told him to go away. He wouldn't stop bothering us. And after all the stuff he did to us this morning, I was pretty fed up with the kid."

Just then, Lloyd himself walked into the room, trying as hard as he could to look completely innocent.

"Hey guys. Hey Anna. How's it going?" he said.

"Lloyd! I've been looking for you all morning! What have you been up to?" Anna asked cautiously.

"Well, I've just been – you know – sitting around, doing absolutely nothing..."

"Oh, sure," said Anna sarcastically. "Then how do you explain the exploding muffins, super glued controller, missing equipment, and hair dye in Nya's shampoo bottle?"

"What are you talking about?" Lloyd tried to sound convincing, but Anna knew she had caught him off guard. "I've just been minding my own business, all morning long."

"Lloyd, look-" Anna began.

Before she could continue, Kai cut her off. "I thought I told you to go away, squirt!" he paused his game, then walked over to Lloyd. "Nobody wants you here, got it? We were better off without you, so just leave already!"

As soon as Kai said that, the overhead lighting seemed to glow a hundred times brighter than normal. It became so unbearable that Anna had to close her eyes.

When the lights returned to their usual brightness, Anna cautiously opened her eyes and looked around. She was still in the Bounty's game room, and nothing seemed out of place. However, Lloyd was no longer standing in the middle of the room. In fact, he was nowhere in sight.

"Okay, could somebody please tell me what the heck just happened?" Jay asked.

"He just...disappeared," Cole said in awe. "That's not possible – right?"

Kai was the only one who was not completely dumbfounded.

"He did not 'disappear'. You all are so gullible! Obviously, that brat is just playing another prank on us."

"Kai, I don't care how good at pranking someone is, but people do not just disappear into thin air!" Jay said.

Kai wasn't convinced. "I don't know how he did it, but that's the only logical explanation for all this!"

A few minutes later, Nya rushed in. "What was that noise?"

No one heard her question, though, because they were all too busy staring at her now-blonde hair.

"So, what's up with the new hair color?" Jay blurted out.

"That's not important right now," replied Nya. "Are you telling me that none of you heard that wind? I thought it was going to tear the whole Bounty apart, board by board.

"Something is definitely going on here," Anna said. "First the light, now the wind – you don't think the same thing happened as in the Underworld, do you, Kai?"

"The Underworld? What do you mean?" asked Cole.

Before anyone could answer, the ninjas heard footsteps in the stairwell followed by a voice: "I'm home!"

"It's Sensei Wu!" Kai exclaimed.

The ninjas ran out to meet him in the hallway.

"Sensei! You've got to help us!" Jay yelled. "When we brought Lloyd back from the Underworld, we didn't know he'd be such a pain and start pranking us, then Kai got really mad, and there was this light and wind, and then Lloyd was gone!"

"Slow down, Jay!" Sensei Wu instructed. "Lloyd – my nephew – is here?"

"Correction, he was here," Nya replied.

"In that case, then, where is he now?" Sensei Wu questioned.

"That's just it," Cole tried to explain. "We have no idea."

"But I think that Kai accidentally teleported Lloyd somewhere else," said Anna.

When Anna saw Sensei Wu's blank expression, she figured she should explain more.

"You see, it all started when..."

Anna continued to explain everything that had happened to the ninjas from the time she and Nya left on her first mission until the events that happened just before Sensei Wu returned.

When she was finished, Sensei Wu just sighed. "I see. It is more serious than even I imagined."

"Sensei, what do you mean?" asked Kai.

"Kai, Anna – I need to talk to you two in private," Sensei Wu said gravely.

When the three were settled in the game room, out of earshot of the other ninjas, Sensei Wu began.

"I chose each of you to become ninjas for your unique abilities. However, I did not imagine that you two could share some of the same power as your fathers did."

"Wait. What powers?" Anna questioned.

"You must understand," the sensei continued, "that your fathers were very skilled and powerful warriors. That is because they were among the select few that were trained in the way of the First Spinjitzu Master – an ancient fighting style passed down to me directly from my father. They had incredible power and were able to do many things. I didn't expect their powers to be handed down to you two."

"Wait just a second," said Kai. "You're saying that our fathers had this great power, and now that same power belongs to us?"

"Yes, Kai. That is correct," Sensei Wu confirmed.

"Then why didn't we know about it earlier?" Anna asked.

"It seems to me that you don't have quite the same amount of power that your fathers did," Sensei Wu said. "For that reason, you can only use your powers when you are near each other."

"This all sounds great, but we can't even control our powers," Kai pointed out.

"Yeah, I wasn't even trying to do that teleportation thing," Anna agreed. "It just happened."

"That is why you must train," Sensei Wu told them. "Learn to control your powers. That way, you can stand up against the ones who plan to put you out of the picture – permanently."

As they were talking, Nya burst into the room, looking panicked. "Sorry to interrupt, guys, but can this conversation wait until later? We've got trouble in the Badlands!"

* * *

**A/N: So, how was you guys' Valentine's Day? I spent mine mostly watching Ninjago and eating chocolate, because I have no life XD!**

**Back on topic, HUGE thanks to my amazing reviewers: Darkrainbow, ZaneLoverFan88, and NinjaMelissa. Love you guys!**

**Response to Reviews:**

**Darkrainbow - Thank you! And I did check out that story - it was SO hilarious! As for my favorite ninja, I'm sorry to say that right now it's a three-way tie among Cole, Kai, and Lloyd. I just can't decide!**

**So, as always, Read, Review, and check back next week for Chapter 8!**

**~Shadow**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: **_**A New Evil**_

Kai and Anna glanced at each other, then at Sensei Wu. He nodded to them. "Go. Your mission is more important than anything else. We can always continue our conversation later."

Anna didn't budge. "But Sensei! What if I can't control my powers? What if I put my friends in danger?"

"Anna, come on!" Kai said impatiently. "You heard Sensei. That's just a risk we'll have to take."

Anna wanted to protest, but instead she sighed and reluctantly followed Kai and Nya to the bridge. When they got there, the other three ninjas were already waiting for them.

"Okay, sis, what's the problem?" Kai asked.

"Actually, I'm not quite sure," Nya replied. "The radar's picking up the heat signatures of dozens of creatures. They're not skeletons, but they're definitely not humans, either."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" said Kai. "Let's go!"

He headed for the door to go mount his dragon, but Nya grabbed his arm. "Not so fast, Kai."

"What? Is there a problem?" Kai asked.

"We're all going together this time," Nya said firmly.

"We can't risk having what happened last time happen again," Cole agreed. "Let's face it, we could use all the help we can get."

"Okay, I guess you're both right," Kai relented.

Nya walked over to the controls to set the coordinates for their destination, but this time Anna stopped her. "Wait! We can't go yet!"

"What now?" Kai questioned, slightly annoyed.

"We have no idea where Lloyd is, remember?" said Anna.

"And your point is?" retorted Kai. "I think we're much better off without him."

"Yeah," Jay agreed. "He's probably just hiding somewhere around here. But we have more pressing problems to deal with right now."

Anna wanted to tell them that Lloyd was most definitely not on anywhere on the Bounty, but then she'd have to explain the whole situation about her and Kai's powers.

Since she really didn't feel ready to revisit the subject she, Kai, and Sensei Wu discussed earlier, she instead said, "But he's Sensei's nephew! We can't just leave without knowing where he is!"

"Yes we can," Nya said. She pushed the flashing red button on the control panel, and the Destiny's Bounty began to rise into the air. Anna watched wordlessly as the forest began to shrink beneath them.

Soon, the ninjas were well on their way to the Badlands. Since Anna knew that she wasn't going to be able to convince Nya to turn the ship around, she decided there must be some way for her to escape to her room for a while.

"If everything is under control here, then I guess I'll go look around the ship for Lloyd." She knew it wasn't a totally convincing excuse, but she needed time alone to think. Plus, that was the best she could think of at the moment. Before anyone could say anything else, Anna slipped out the bridge's door and headed for her room.

Once she got there, she shut her door tight to make sure no one would bother her. She locked it, too – just for good measure. Then she flopped down on her bed and closed her eyes, trying desperately to take in all the craziness of that day.

Now she finally knew why her mother wanted her and Kai locked up. They really were too dangerous.

Anna had seen how easily Kai had teleported Lloyd somewhere. All it took were a few misspoken words, and their powers would become uncontrollable. Anna realized with a sickening feeling that it would only be a matter of time before one of her friends was endangered because of her. The thought of it all was overwhelming.

Anna must have fallen asleep at that point because when she opened her eyes again, she heard Nya's voice coming over the loudspeaker in her room: "Anna! We're approaching the Badlands in a few minutes, so get your weapons ready and meet us down in the bridge. Over and out!"

Anna immediately got off her bed and started digging through her closet for a decent sword. As she was searching, a small object fell off the closet shelf and landed at her feet.

It was a short flute, about half a foot long, made out of a stalk of bamboo. Small holes had been carefully carved in the stem to produce a variety of pitches when played. A metal mouthpiece was fitted at the end.

Anna stopped what she was doing, bent down, and picked up the flute. She ran her fingers along the surface, turning it over and over in her hands. As she held the flute, the outside world began to fade, and Anna's mind raced back to the time when she had received the instrument.

It was her tenth birthday. The day had been filled with presents, cake, and family. Her grandparents had even come all the way from Ninjago City to her house to celebrate. Anna remembered sitting in her living room admiring her presents when her older brother Bryce had walked over to her and handed her a small package.

"Here," he said. "This is for you."

"Thank you, Bryce," Anna had replied. "I thought I had opened all my presents already, but I guess not!"

Anna gently peeled the wrapping paper off the box, then lifted the lid. Inside was a small flute.

Anna gently lifted it out of the box, and the edges of her lips turned upwards into a smile.

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, hugging her brother. "But do you really think I can play it?"

"Sure you can, with a little bit of practice," Bryce assured her. "I made it myself, so it's not quite as fancy as mine, but it will still play just as well."

"I want to play it right now!" Anna said. "C'mon, will you teach me?"

"Of course, Anna. Why wouldn't I?" Bryce said as he followed Anna into her room.

Once the two got to Anna's room, they both sat down on her bed.

"Now, this song I'm going to teach you is the first thing I learned to play when I was your age. It's very simple, so I'm sure you'll pick it up in no time," said Bryce. He showed Anna how to place her fingers over the holes correctly and how to play certain notes.

Soon Anna was able to play a small portion of the tune with only a few mistakes.

"Wow, you learned this even faster than I thought you would," Bryce praised her. "Now, listen closely. I want you to take this flute with you wherever you go and practice playing it. If you're ever in trouble, play this song I just taught you as loud as you can. I'll know that you need help, and I'll be there for you as fast as I possibly can. Deal?"

"Deal," Anna agreed, and she threw her arms around her brother.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Anna! Where are you? We've landed in the Badlands and we need you down here now!" Nya's voice over the loudspeaker shook Anna out of her thoughts. For a minute, Anna forgot where she was. Then reality hit her and she remembered her team's mission to investigate the Badlands.

She quickly grabbed the sword that was propped against the back wall of her closet. She started to replace her flute on the shelf it had fallen from, but she stopped herself. Her brother's words echoed in her mind:

…_take this flute with you wherever you go…_

Before she could reconsider her judgment, Anna tucked the flute away securely in her back pocket. Then she left to join the other ninjas in the bridge. However, she didn't get that far before she met the ninjas and Nya in the hallway.

"What took you so long, Anna?" Kai questioned.

"Yeah, we have to go investigate before whatever the radar picked up disappears," Jay added.

"It took me a while to find my sword. It was buried in my closet," Anna explained. She didn't exactly lie, but she didn't give her friends the whole truth either.

"Either way, that doesn't matter now," Cole said. "Jay's right; we need to get going."

The ninjas exited the Bounty and began to explore the Badlands. Unfortunately, nothing seemed amiss. The dry landscape stretched out to meet the horizon in every direction. An occasional shrub or stunted tree dotted the parched ground, but other than that, there was no life to be found anywhere.

After walking for a while, Jay stopped them. "Okay guys, this is the spot where the radar picked up a signal."

Everyone drew their weapons and glanced around nervously, but nothing happened.

"Really, Jay?" Anna asked. "There's nobody here. If there was, I'm sure we'd be able to see them. The land is flat for miles around."

"No, it's not," said Nya, pointing farther in front of them.

Anna turned to see what she was pointing at. The land sloped upwards, then suddenly dropped off, leading to a churning ocean hundreds of feet below. It would have been a beautiful view, except for one thing. Jagged rocks jutted out of the parts of the ocean around the cliff like the jaws of a beast, giving the whole scene a sinister look.

"We should head over to that cliff before we turn back," Cole suggested.

"It would certainly provide a better vantage point of our surroundings than here," said Zane.

"I guess that does make sense," Nya agreed. "Let's go."

The ninjas walked along the edge of the cliff, but still they found nothing. Just as they were about to turn back, Anna heard a faint rumbling that sounded like it was coming from underneath their feet.

"Did you guys hear that?" she asked. Her teammates stopped what they were doing and looked up at her.

"Hear what? I didn't hear anything," said Jay.

"Just listen," insisted Anna.

Everyone strained their ears to hear the noise Anna had heard. After a few minutes, the rumbling sound came again, louder this time.

"Now you guys can't tell me that I'm imagining things," Anna said. "You all heard that, right?"

"What do you think it is?" asked Nya.

"Whatever it is, I have a feeling we're not going to like it," Kai said grimly.

As they spoke, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble. It shook more and more violently, until the ninjas could barely keep their footing.

Just when Anna thought for sure that the whole cliff would break apart, the ground around them erupted, spewing clouds of dust and rock all around them. Soon it became impossible to see anything.

"Everyone, stay together!" Cole instructed, but they were all too panicked to listen.

The ninjas looked wildly around, trying to find anything that would give them a clue of what was happening.

That's when Anna saw them – dozens of pairs of glowing red eyes, all trained directly on her and her friends.

* * *

**A/N: Another cliffhanger, this time literally. You know you love them! :P **

**Anyway, sorry if I haven't been on FanFiction for a while lately. I was traveling all weekend, and the place I stayed didn't have Internet connection, so obviously I couldn't check for updates.**

**As always, a big thanks goes out to my reviewers: ZaneLoverFan88 and Darkrainbow (twice!). **

**Response to Reviews:**

**Darkrainbow - Of course we can be BFFs! And I am planning on making a story featuring your OC, I just don't know when I'll get around to it. You should really get a FanFiction account if you don't have one already. That way we can talk more, and maybe we can even work on a story together! Oh, and you deserve some cookies, too (::) (::)**

**So, don't forget to review, and I'll try to get Chapter 9 up as early as possible next Sunday so you can find out what happens next!**

**~Shadow**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine:_ Surprise Visitor_**

Anna tried to warn her friends, but she was coughing so hard, she could barely breathe, let alone talk. She took a few steps backwards, towards the edge of the cliff. Surely whatever had ambushed them wouldn't be able to follow her deeper into the cloud of debris in the air.

Anna was careful not to back up too much, otherwise she would fall off the cliff. Her teammates must have had the same idea, because when she reached the edge, she was shoulder to shoulder with the other ninjas.

For a minute Anna thought they were safe. The red eyes had seemingly disappeared. Her relief was short-lived, though. A few minutes later, the glowing eyes reappeared, only a few feet away now.

The air had cleared enough for Anna to breathe, but it was still too dusty to see anything.

"Whatever those things are, they must be able to see through the dust!" Anna was able to choke out.

"How are we supposed to fight if we can't see?" Kai yelled somewhere off to Anna's right.

"It's not like we have much of a choice," Cole replied. "If we don't fight, then we'll most likely be killed by whatever ambushed us!"

Anna knew that this wasn't exactly the time or place for a pep talk, but Cole was right – if they just kept standing here, they wouldn't make it out of this alive.

"It doesn't matter if we can see or not," Anna said. "We're ninja, remember? And ninja never quit! We either send these monsters back to where they came from, or we die trying. Got it?"

And with that, Anna drew her sword and lunged towards where she last saw the glowing red eyes of her opponents.

Nya drew two daggers from her belt and followed Anna into battle, right behind the four boys.

The group tried to fight the best they could, but their opponents had an obvious advantage. Whenever one of the ninjas attacked, their foe simply stepped out of the way. As a result, the ninjas swung their weapons wildly, only to be raked again and again by the sharp claws of the monsters they were fighting.

It wasn't long before they were once again pushed up against the edge of the cliff.

"It's no use!" yelled Kai. "We can't fight like this!"

"Well, if this is the end, I just want to say that it was nice knowing all of you," Jay said.

"Yeah, it's been an honor fighting beside you guys," Cole agreed.

"That's it?" Anna asked. "You're just going to give up, admit defeat?"

"Either that, or we run blindly into battle, and you saw how well that worked," Kai snapped.

"We're all hurt, Anna. We can't go on fighting forever," Nya pointed out. "Face it. We've run out of options."

Anna couldn't argue with her there. She had numerous wounds herself, and she knew she couldn't keep going for much longer.

But this couldn't be the end. There had to be another way. Anna tried frantically to come up with a plan, but her mind came up empty. She was completely defenseless. Even her sword had been lost in the battle.

That was when she remembered. She had brought something else with her. The flute her brother had given her all those many years ago.

Anna reached for her pocket and sighed in relief when she felt the flute. At least it hadn't been lost in the battle.

She didn't know if she could still play it. Even if she could, it seemed impossible that her brother would hear her, or even recognize it as a distress signal.

It was a long shot, but it was all she had.

_Well, here goes nothing_, she thought.

She took a deep breath, then held the flute up to her lips.

At first the notes came out squeaky and hardly recognizable, but after a few practice notes, Anna got the hang of it.

_Good thing Bryce drilled this distress song into my head, or else I probably wouldn't remember it right now_, Anna thought with a smile.

As Anna played the first few bars of the song, the others stared at her in disbelief.

"Have you lost your mind?" Jay shrieked. "What, you think that you can play some lullaby and put those things to sleep?!"

Anna didn't answer. She was too busy concentrating on playing the right notes as loudly as possible.

The song was short, and after a few minutes, Anna was done playing.

"I have no idea what you're trying to do, but feel free to join in fighting whenever you feel like it," Kai said to her.

Anna realized that her teammates must have been covering for her while she played.

"As tempting as that sounds, Kai, I kind of lost my sword a while ago," she replied. "But don't worry. Help will be here soon!"

_I hope_, she added silently.

Anna waited... and waited... and waited. But absolutely nothing happened.

Anna was just about to give up hope when she heard cheering from the ninjas.

"What?" Anna asked, confused. "What's going on?"

"They're retreating!" Kai yelled triumphantly.

Anna looked and saw that the red eyes and whatever they belonged to were, in fact, retreating under the ground.

"We did it!" Anna cheered. "We actually -"

She stopped mid-sentence as a terrible thought crossed her mind.

"What's the matter, Anna?" Cole asked.

"Yeah, we won!" Jay said.

Anna took a shaky breath. "Um, guys, I don't think we've won quite yet."

"What do you mean?" Kai asked. "You saw them. They were retreating."

"I don't think they were," said Anna. "Remember, they came out of the ground in the first place, right?"

"Yeah, so what's your point?" questioned Kai.

"What if they weren't retreating? What if they were just regrouping?"

Everyone looked puzzled, except Nya.

She saw what Anna was trying to say, and she gasped. "This is not good. This is definitely not good. We need to get out of here right now!"

It was too late, however. The cliff that the ninjas were standing on began to crumble.

"Those monsters made the ledge unstable by burrowing!" Anna yelled. "We're going to fall!"

Fractures crisscrossed the land where they were standing, and with one sickening crunch, the whole ledge gave way.

Anna screamed as she felt herself free-falling through the air at extreme speeds. Maybe she would have enjoyed the feeling if she were skydiving with a parachute, but not when she was plummeting to certain death in the ocean.

Even now she could hear the angry waves crashing against the cliff face. Then there was also the matter of the razor sharp stone spires jutting out of the ocean directly below her. They were only about a hundred feet away from her now.

_So this really is the end..._

Anna closed her eyes, ready to accept her fate.

She remembered reading somewhere that right when people are about to die, they feel a strange sense of peace come over them. It was funny, though, because that wasn't how she felt at all right now.

Then, all too soon, Anna collided with solid matter, and she could feel herself floating gently upwards.

_So, I guess this is what it feels like to be dead_, Anna thought.

It was all very confusing. First of all, Anna had expected to feel a little more pain. Second, if she really was dead, then why did Anna feel like she was just dreaming?

She tried to figure out what exactly was going on, but her mind felt fuzzy. Maybe if she just rested for a few moments, then she could think about this all later...

"Anna! Wake up!"

_Funny... that sounded like Cole's voice..._

Anna opened her eyes to find all her friends, staring down at her. There was also another concerned face there. One that looked exactly like...

"Bryce!" Anna yelled. She immediately sat up and hugged her brother.

"It's good to see you, too, Anna," Bryce laughed.

"But how –? I thought for sure that we were going to die," Anna said.

"Well, you were, but lucky for you I just happened to be around these parts, and I heard you playing the flute I gave you," Bryce explained. "By the way, it sounded great."

"Thanks," Anna said.

"Anyway, I caught you and your friends on the back of my dragon just before you hit the rocks. You must have hit your head harder than the rest of your friends, because you were instantly knocked out cold."

"And the monsters we were fighting –?"

"Serpentine. Pretty nasty creatures if you ask me. They're half human, half snake, and all evil. But you don't have to worry, I took care of them."

"Sorry to interrupt, but did we miss something?" Jay broke in. "Do you know this guy, Anna?"

Anna was so excited about seeing her brother again that she almost forgot her friends were there. "Oh, sorry. Guys, this is Bryce, my brother. Bryce, these are my friends, the famous Masters of Spinjitzu."

"I've heard about you four," Bryce said. "But, Anna, you never told me you joined their team."

"Yeah, well, you've missed a lot being away for so long," Anna said softly, turning away from her brother.

"I'm sorry that I had to leave. But, believe me, leaving you behind was my biggest regret," said Bryce.

"Then please, don't leave again," Anna begged. "You can stay with us. I'm sure Sensei Wu wouldn't mind."

"I can't, Anna," Bryce sighed.

"Why not?" Anna demanded. What's so much more important to you than your family?"

"Anna, the whole reason I've been gone is to bring our family back together. And I won't stop searching until I find our father."

That caught Anna off guard. "Our father? Is he still alive? Do you know where he is?"

"I'm not really sure," Bryce admitted. "But I do know that the only reason Mom's working for Garmadon is because he offered to find Dad for her. If I don't find Dad first, then our mother will be indebted to Garmadon forever!"

Anna was speechless for a while, then finally said, "I understand. But just be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry," Bryce said. "Since when have you known me to be careless?"

At that, Anna actually laughed for the first time that day.

"Seriously, though, it's about time that you get back home. I'm sure that your sensei is really worried about you by now," Bryce said.

"But what about you?" Anna asked.

"I'll be fine," said Bryce. "Plus, I have Jet to keep me out of trouble."

"Your dragon?" Anna looked over to her right and saw a beautiful Sea Dragon curled up on the ground, its turquoise scales gleaming in the sunset.

"I'd better get going," said Bryce. He mounted his dragon, which then unfolded its gigantic wings and hovered over the sea. "See you soon, Anna!"

With that, the dragon flew out farther and farther over the ocean, until it finally became just a distant speck on the horizon.

Anna stood there for a few more minutes, then turned to her friends and said, "Let's get going. We have a lot of explaining to do when we get back."

* * *

**A/N: So what did you think? Just to make you guys happy, I purposely didn't end on a cliffhanger. **

**Last chapter I got a total of FIVE REVIEWS! I think that's the most I've ever gotten on a single chapter, so thanks so much to: ZaneLoverFan88, Darkrainbow, Yuna53421, NinjaMelissa, and HiroKaiMarc.**

**Response to Reviews:**

**ZaneLoverFan88: I hope this chapter answered some (if not all) of your questions.**

**That's all I have to say so Review, Follow, Favorite, or do all three because it would make me extremely happy! And, it would also give me reassurance that some people actually read this story and care about it.**

**Anyways, I'll be back next week with Chapter Ten, so bye for now!**

**~Shadow**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey, guys! Will you look at that, I'm updating early today! I hope you've been enjoying this story so far, because I sure have!**

**Okay, I'll stop talking now and let you get to the story. Hope you like it!**

* * *

**Chapter Ten:_ Legend of the Serpentine_**

The ninjas walked back to the Destiny's Bounty in silence. As they neared their home, they could see Sensei Wu standing on the deck awaiting their safe arrival. In his hand was a steaming cup of tea.

The ninjas also noticed a small child standing next to the sensei wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and denim jeans.

Cole started, "That looks exactly like..."

"Lloyd!" Anna yelled joyfully. She ran all the way back to the Bounty and threw her arms around Lloyd. "I'm so glad you're back!"

"Alright, alright! Enough already!" Lloyd tried unsuccessfully to push Anna away.

When the rest of the ninjas arrived on the Bounty, Anna asked, "What happened to you? I was so worried!"

"You think I'm going to tell you?" said Lloyd harshly. "It's none of your business where I've been and what I've been doing!"

"Lloyd," warned Sensei Wu in a dangerous tone, "you will tell my students about your travels this instant. They have every right to know."

"Fine," Lloyd pouted. "Here goes. It all started when Kai flipped out on me earlier. I don't know for sure exactly what happened because I blacked out, but when I woke up I was in my father's palace in the Underworld."

"Hey," Kai interrupted, "I didn't mean it. But you were seriously getting on my nerves."

"That doesn't give you an excuse to knock me out and send me back to the Underworld!" Lloyd countered.

"What are you talking about?" questioned Kai. "I have no idea how you got there, but whatever happened, I can assure you I didn't do it on purpose!"

Anna glared at Kai, letting him know not to say too much around the others. Kai and Anna still hadn't agreed on when to tell their friends about their special powers, but now definitely wasn't the time.

"Guys, please. Can we get back to the story now?" Anna said, trying to change the subject.

"Right," Lloyd said. "After wandering around the palace for a while, I finally found my father. He asked me where I'd been, but I couldn't tell him about how the skeletons betrayed me and how you guys took me in, so I lied and said I was off brainstorming ideas on how to become the newest and most evil villain Ninjago has ever seen."

"Oh, please! Just cut to the chase already! We don't have all day to sit around here!" Cole complained.

"I'm getting there!" Lloyd said. "Anyways, my dad just laughed and told me I could never be a great villain if I didn't even have an evil army to do my bidding. That got me thinking... what kind of creatures were there in Ninjago that I could enslave and use to carry out my diabolical plans? Then I remembered those old wives' tales about the half-man, half-snake monsters that used to terrorize Ninjago until they were imprisoned in tombs of stone miles under the surface by the elders of Ninjago."

"You mean the Serpentine?" Jay asked. "You do know those are just legends, right?"

"Oh, no. Don't tell me you did what I think you did," said Kai.

"Um... yeah. About that. I opened the Serpentine tombs," Lloyd admitted.

"Lloyd!" Kai yelled, furious. "Don't you realize what you've done?"

"How could you?" Cole asked.

"You've released Ninjago's most feared enemy to wreak havoc on innocent citizens!" added Jay.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Lloyd tried to apologize, but no one paid him any attention. They just kept yelling at him and accusing him.

The ninjas wold have remained in their state of anger if Sensei Wu had not have spoken up just then.

"Enough!" he said, and immediately the ninjas stopped yelling.

"But Sensei," Jay protested, "don't you realize what's at stake here?"

"Yes, and I have already talked to my nephew," replied Sensei Wu. "I believe he is deeply sorry for his actions."

"Sorry isn't going to fix the fact that innocent lives are being lost at the Serpentine's hands!" Kai yelled.

"Kai!" Sensei Wu scolded. "The past is the past. We cannot change the fact that the Serpentine tombs are now opened. Instead, we must find a way to combat their forces before they cause any more harm."

"But that's impossible!" Anna yelled. "When we faced them, we barely escaped with our lives! We would have been killed if it wasn't for my brother!"

"Face it, Sensei Wu, we can't fight them," Kai said. "We don't know anything about them – their weaknesses, battle strategies, or even what their master plan is. We're completely helpless."

Not quite, Kai," Sensei Wu said. "There is more to the tale of the Serpentine than the part Lloyd told."

Lloyd looked surprised. "What? There is? The only part I've ever heard was about the Elders locking the Serpentine away."

"Yes, but did you ever think about how the Elders managed to force the Serpentine underground?" Sensei Wu asked.

"Well, no, not really," Lloyd replied.

"It was not such an easy task to imprison the Serpentine. Many brave warriors had tried time and time again. Not one was able to succeed," Sensei Wu said.

"Then how did the Serpentine end up in those tombs?" Jay asked.

"Jay, would you quit interrupting?" said Kai, annoyed at his teammate. "This is important!"

"The Elders were distraught. They had lost almost all of their fiercest warriors, and soon there would be no one left to protect the citizens of Ninjago," Sensei Wu continued. "The Elders knew that they must do something. After weeks and weeks of intensive studies, the Elders finally created four Sacred Flutes to aid the warriors."

"Flutes?" said Cole incredulously. "How can a flute be a secret weapon?"

"When played, the instruments would emit a special high-pitched sound that would temporarily stun the Serpentine, rendering them helpless," Sensei Wu replied. "Wielding these new weapons, four warriors were able to force the Serpentine into solid stone tombs, imprisoning them for thousands of years."

"Wait a second," said Anna, "How do you know so much about this part of the story? The rest of us have never even heard it before."

"It is because I was one of the young warriors who imprisoned the Serpentine once and for all," Sensei Wu said simply.

"What? That's impossible!" Jay yelled. "That happened thousands of years ago!"

"Even so, it seems like it was only yesterday," Sensei Wu said.

"Sensei, if you really were one of the warriors that received a Sacred Flute from the Elders, does that mean you still have it?" Anna asked excitedly.

"Yeah, we could really use one of those things now," added Cole. "It sounds like they could fix our snake infestation pretty quickly."

As an answer, Sensei Wu produced a small tan flute out of the folds in his robes.

It looked similar to the flute Anna's brother made for her, but it was constructed out of better materials and had intricate carvings all along the sides.

The ninjas stared at it in silence, wide-eyed and amazed, until Anna finally spoke up.

"If you were one of the warriors who imprisoned the Serpentine, then who were the other three?" she asked. "In your story, you said there were four warriors."

"Why not ask your brother that question?" Sensei Wu said. "He is a flute player, correct? Did you ever ask him where he acquired his flute?"

"What do you mean? My brother doesn't know anything about any of this," said Anna.

"Doesn't he?" questioned Sensei Wu.

Suddenly Anna realized what Sensei Wu meant.

"My father... from what I can remember, he was good friends with you. Are you saying that he was one of the four warriors also?" Anna said slowly.

Sensei Wu nodded.

"So Bryce's flute is one of the Sacred Flutes the Elders made and gave to my father. He must have given it to Bryce before I was born," Anna concluded.

Anna now knew why Sensei Wu's flute looked so similar to her own. Bryce had specially made her flute to look and play like his Sacred Flute.

Unfortunately, even though they looked similar, her flute didn't have the same power as the flutes the Elders created. Anna had tried playing her flute earlier when she was battling the Serpentine, but it hadn't done anything to them.

"That actually makes a lot of sense, Anna," commented Kai. "When you were knocked out and your brother was fighting those snakes, he did pull out some sort of flute at one point. When he played it, the snakes stopped dead in their tracks. They couldn't stand it."

"Really? You just tell me this now?" Anna said. "You do realize that this is information that we could have used earlier!"

"Sorry," apologized Kai, "I guess it slipped my mind."

While they were talking, Sensei Wu walked over to Anna and handed her the Sacred Flute. "Anna, I am now entrusting you with this flute. Guard it with your life, for it is vitally important."

Anna stood there for a moment, too stunned to say anything. Then, she managed to say, "Thank you, Sensei. It is my honor to protect this flute."

"I believe that you can put it to a much better use than can I," Sensei Wu told Anna. Then to the rest of the ninjas he said, "There will be difficult battles in the future, and I may not always be around to guide you. But train hard, harness the power inside you, and together you will be able to overcome any odds."

Then, the sensei turned and walked below the deck, leaving the ninjas to think about his words.

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Anna set the flute her brother made for her down on her bedside table. Then, sitting down on her bed, she picked up the Sacred Flute Sensei Wu had given he a while earlier.

As she ran her fingers over its glossy surface, she could almost feel the power radiating from it.

All of a sudden, she heard a soft knock on her door.

She crossed the room and opened it, revealing Kai standing in the doorway.

"Oh, hey, Kai," she said. "What's up?"

"Do you have a minute?" Kai asked.

"Sure," Anna replied. "Come on in."

Anna walked over and grabbed two chairs from the corner of her room. Then she gave one to Kai, and they both sat down.

"So, what's the matter?" Anna asked. "I thought you would be training like everybody else."

"I wanted to talk about our parents."

"What about them?" Anna asked.

"They're still alive, Anna. Your brother said so himself," Kai said.

"Even if they are, what are we supposed to do about it?" said Anna. "We don't even know where to start looking for them."

"We have to train," Kai replied. "You heard Sensei. Learn to control our powers. Then we can worry about finding out where they are."

Anna looked scared. "No, Kai. We can't. Our powers are too dangerous. I don't think I'll ever be able to control them."

"Now you're starting to sound like your mother," Kai joked.

Anna laughed, but she still sounded nervous.

"I don't know about you, but I can't just sit around here knowing my parents are alive but not doing anything to find them," Kai said. "One way or another, I'm going to find them. Are you with me, or not?"

"Count me in," Anna said.

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**A/N: How was it? I understand if you thought this chapter was a tiny bit boring, I realize that I put absolutely no action into it. Still, please review anyway! I'd love to know what you thought of the chapter, or if there's something I should fix!**

**I'd like to thank my amazingly awesome reviewers ZaneLoverFan88 and NinjaMelissa. You guys are the best!**

**Also, thanks to all you guys that have been favoriting/following this story. I'm glad you enjoy it so much!**

**I got nothing else, so see you next week and have an awesome day!**

**~Shadow**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm so sorry to say that I don't have the next chapter written yet. I know, you were probably all looking forward to reading it, but I do have my reasons. First of all, my week was so busy, you would not believe it. Also, I've been sick the whole weekend (and I still feel pretty crappy). But, since I love you guys, and I also don't want to break the guidelines, I've included a sneak peek of what I've written so far for Chapter Eleven.**

* * *

Anna awoke the next morning before the sun even came up. The sky was still pitch black, with the exception of the crescent moon and a few stars. The only noise Anna could hear was Nya's light breathing as she slept in her bed across the room.

Everything else was still.

_Perfect_, Anna thought to herself.

The night before, Anna and Kai had agreed that they needed more training. However, they couldn't train around their friends. Not when their powers were too new and uncontrollable.

Finally, the two had decided to sneak out the next morning to get some training in before anyone else woke up. It would be the best way to practice in secret and avoid any questioning.

As Anna quietly got out of her bed, she thought about how her training would go. Honestly, she was a little bit scared. She had no idea what kind of powers she and Kai had yet to discover. Sensei Wu had said their teleportation powers had only been the beginning.

Anna decided she wouldn't worry too much about it. After all, she and Kai would be training far away from any other people. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Being careful not to wake Nya, Anna tiptoed over to her closet and pulled out some old jeans and a T-shirt. She also grabbed her favorite sword, just in case she might need it.

After getting dressed and quickly fixing her hair, she headed out the door.

Anna sneaked down the hallway and past the other ninjas' rooms until she eventually made it to the stairway leading above deck.

As soon as she stepped outside, Anna immediately wished she had brought a jacket. Even though the night was clear, a cold wind was blowing, chilling Anna to the bone. She didn't worry too much about it, though, because she knew she'd be fine once she started training.

Anna walked over to where Kai was standing, near the weapons storage.

He was turned around with his back to her, picking out a few swords and other weapons. He probably hadn't even realized she was here yet.

"Hey, Kai," Anna said, trying her best not to startle him.

"Anna?" asked Kai, turning around. "When did you get here?"

"I've been standing over there by the steps for a while," answered Anna. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, it's okay," Kai said. Then he went on, "It took you long enough to get here. I've been waiting for ages!"

"I'm not used to getting up as early as you are," Anna said. "I'm still new to all this ninja business, remember?"

"Well, it's a good thing you're here now," Kai said. "C'mon, pick out a sword or something, then let's get going. We want to have as much time to train as possible."

"I don't need a sword. I brought my own," Anna said.

Kai shrugged. "Suit yourself."

The two were silent for a few moments as Kai turned around and kept rummaging through the weapons storage for a decent sword. Finally, Anna spoke.

"Kai, speaking about waking up early, won't the others be waking up pretty soon? I remember my first week here, you guys woke me up when it was still dark outside."

"Nah, don't worry about it. The other guys won't be up for a few more hours," Kai replied. "It's true that we usually get up early, but not as early as this."

Kai finally decided on a thin, not too fancy sword, then turned back to Anna. "Let's go."

* * *

**A/N: So, hopefully you guys like it so far! Like I said before, I'm so sorry and I hope you guys can forgive me. The rest of the chapter should be up either tomorrow or the next day, so please check back soon!**

**~Shadow**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I know what I said. I was supposed to put up the rest of this chapter last Monday. And here it's Sunday, and I'm just now getting around to putting this up. I'm so sorry, and I hope you guys don't hate me. Anyways, this is all of Chapter 11, so if you read the chapter last week, you can skip to the first page break. Or, if you want to refresh your memory on what's going on, you can just read the whole thing. :)**

_**I still don't own Ninjago.**_

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**Chapter Eleven: **_**Special Training**_

Anna awoke the next morning before the sun even came up. The sky was still pitch black, with the exception of the crescent moon and a few stars. The only noise Anna could hear was Nya's light breathing as she slept in her bed across the room.

Everything else was still.

_Perfect_, Anna thought to herself.

The night before, Anna and Kai had agreed that they needed more training. However, they couldn't train around their friends. Not when their powers were too new and uncontrollable.

Finally, the two had decided to sneak out the next morning to get some training in before anyone else woke up. It would be the best way to practice in secret and avoid any questioning.

As Anna quietly got out of her bed, she thought about how her training would go. Honestly, she was a little bit scared. She had no idea what kind of powers she and Kai had yet to discover. Sensei Wu had said their teleportation powers had only been the beginning.

Anna decided she wouldn't worry too much about it. After all, she and Kai would be training far away from any other people. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Being careful not to wake Nya, Anna tiptoed over to her closet and pulled out some old jeans and a T-shirt. She also grabbed her favorite sword, just in case she might need it.

After getting dressed and quickly fixing her hair, she headed out the door.

Anna sneaked down the hallway and past the other ninjas' rooms until she eventually made it to the stairway leading above deck.

As soon as she stepped outside, Anna immediately wished she had brought a jacket. Even though the night was clear, a cold wind was blowing, chilling Anna to the bone. She didn't worry too much about it, though, because she knew she'd be fine once she started training.

Anna walked over to where Kai was standing, near the weapons storage.

He was turned around with his back to her, picking out a few swords and other weapons. He probably hadn't even realized she was here yet.

"Hey, Kai," Anna said, trying her best not to startle him.

"Anna?" asked Kai, turning around. "When did you get here?"

"I've been standing over there by the steps for a while," answered Anna. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, it's okay," Kai said. Then he went on, "It took you long enough to get here. I've been waiting for ages!"

"I'm not used to getting up as early as you are," Anna said. "I'm still new to all this ninja business, remember?"

"Well, it's a good thing you're here now," Kai said. "C'mon, pick out a sword or something, then let's get going. We want to have as much time to train as possible."

"I don't need a sword. I brought my own," Anna said.

Kai shrugged. "Suit yourself."

The two were silent for a few moments as Kai turned around and kept rummaging through the weapons storage for a decent sword. Finally, Anna spoke.

"Kai, speaking about waking up early, won't the others be waking up pretty soon? I remember my first week here, you guys woke me up when it was still dark outside."

"Nah, don't worry about it. The other guys won't be up for a few more hours," Kai replied. "It's true that we usually get up early, but not as early as this."

Kai finally decided on a thin, not too fancy sword, then turned back to Anna. "Let's go."

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Without another word, Kai and Anna headed out from the Bounty to try to find a decent place to train.

After walking for a while, Anna started to get impatient. "Do you even know where you're going, Kai?" she asked. "Is there a certain spot you had in mind at all?"

"Hey, calm down! This was kind of a short notice thing, alright?" Kai said. "Just wait a few more minutes, will you?"

"Fine," Anna grumbled.

Sure enough, after a few minutes, Kai and Anna arrived at a flat area of land that was clear of any rocks and other debris.

"This is the perfect spot!" Anna exclaimed.

"Told you," said Kai. "And you didn't believe me."

"Whatever. Let's just start already, okay?"

Anna and Kai both stood directly across from each other and assumed a fighting position. They raised their fists, ready to charge at each other. However, neither of them made any move to strike from there.

"So... how exactly are we supposed to go about learning to control our powers?" Anna finally asked.

"How should I know?" Kai replied. "I thought you were the one with all the ideas."

"Well, it would be pointless to practice one-on-one combat. We always practice that back at the Bounty, anyway," said Anna.

"And? What are you getting at?" asked Kai, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know!" Anna gave up. "I can't think when you're pressuring me! Just give me a minute!"

Both Kai and Anna were quiet as Anna thought about their training.

After a few minutes, Anna spoke again. "What exactly triggers our powers? I mean, it seems like they just happen randomly, but there has to be some kind of pattern to them."

"Really? Because those crazy teleportation ordeals seem pretty random to me," Kai noted.

"There has to be some logic to it!" Anna insisted. "Think, Kai!"

"For starters, every time something like that happens, you and I are always in the same place at the same time," said Kai.

"Right. That makes sense. I remember Sensei Wu saying that it took both of us to activate our powers," Anna agreed. "Anything else?"

"What about the destination of the people or things we teleport?" Kai suggested.

"That's a good question," mused Anna. "I think it might have to do with what we're concentrating on hardest at the time. For example, when I teleported us out of the Underworld and we ended up at Mega Monster Amusement Park, all I was thinking about was my family being together again."

"What does an amusement park have to do with your family?" Kai asked.

"Whenever my dad wasn't adventuring, I remember he used to take us to that same amusement park for family outings," Anna replied. "I guess the last place I remember my family being together was at the park."

"Okay, how about when I accidentally sent Lloyd back to the Underworld?" said Kai.

"Well, I remember you telling Lloyd to go back where he came from, and technically, he does come from the Underworld, right?" Anna said.

"Sure, if you say so," Kai agreed.

"Okay, let's test this out," said Anna, rubbing her hands together. "Kai, set your sword down over here." She gestured to a flat rock off to her right.

Kai obediently laid his sword down and walked back to where he had been standing.

"Here goes nothing," Anna muttered. She shut her eyes tightly and stretched her hand out toward Kai's sword.

At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then, all at once, a strong wind began to whip around Anna. There was a blinding flash of light, then, the same sword that was resting on the rock a few seconds before now clattered to the ground in front of Kai.

"Amazing," Kai whispered.

Anna opened her eyes and looked over at the flat rock. Seeing that there was nothing on it, she looked over to Kai and noticed the sword at his feet.

Anna sighed, clearly relieved. "It worked!" she exclaimed in awe. Then she started to laugh. "It actually worked!"

"Okay, you need to teach me exactly how you did that, because it was seriously cool," Kai said.

"I will," Anna promised. "The one thing I still don't understand is why the sword ended up at your feet. While I was concentrating on teleporting it, I thought about the sword being in your hands. So why didn't it end up there?"

"Hey, don't be too hard on yourself, okay? That was really good for a first try. I'm sure you'll get better with more practice," Kai assured Anna.

"Thanks, Kai," Anna said. "You're right. That was pretty amazing. I bet even you can't do any better."

"Is that a challenge?" Kai questioned. "Oh, you're on! Let me see your sword."

"Why can't you use your own?" Anna asked.

"Why couldn't you use yours when you were practicing?" Kai countered.

"Good point." Anna reluctantly handed her sword over to Kai. "Just don't mess it up, got it? That's my favorite sword."

"Relax. I know exactly what I'm doing," Kai said.

Before Anna could object any further, Kai threw the sword high up into the air. Then he closed his eyes and extended his hand towards the rapidly descending sword.

A split second later, there was a bright light that completely engulfed the sword. When the light faded, the sword was no longer falling through the air.

Instead, it reappeared in front of Anna and fell with a metallic clang at her feet.

"Show-off," Anna grumbled.

"I can't help it if I'm awesome at this," Kai protested.

"Whatever," Anna said. "Anyway, now we have the hang of our teleportation powers,"

"Which, I may add, are the best thing ever," Kai interrupted.

"We should probably try to see if we can figure out what other powers we may have," Anna finished.

"And how do you suggest we go about doing that?" Kai asked.

"I don't know!" Anna said, frustrated. "I don't see you offering up any bright ideas!"

"Oh, c'mon! There has to be a way to figure this out!" Kai exclaimed, throwing up his hands.

Anna closed her eyes tightly and tried to concentrate, but she couldn't figure out anything.

"Nothing's coming to me!" Anna said.

"Just think!" Kai instructed.

So Anna did. She thought about anything and everything. Maybe if she kept thinking about anything that popped into her mind, something would eventually give her a clue to her powers.

Anna kept thinking. About her stay with the ninjas at the Bounty, about all the friends she had had back at her old home, and finally, about her family.

Anna lost herself deep in thought for a while. She thought that Kai might be worried about her by now, because she was never this quiet for this long. She didn't care. The only thing she cared about was finding some answers.

Something, anything, that would lead her closer to reuniting her family.

Then it hit her.

Anna's eyes snapped wide open, and she grabbed Kai by the shoulders.

"Kai," she gasped, barely able to make a sentence, "I know where our parents are."

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**A/N: I promise guys, from now on I will update on time to the best of my ability. But, hopefully this chapter was worth waiting a few weeks for. Hopefully.**

**Thank You, everyone that reviewed the last couple chapters: Yuna53421, ZaneLoverFan88, and Darkrainbow. **

**Response to Reviews:**

**First off, thanks to everyone who sent their get well wishes. I am feeling a lot better, but I still don't feel 100 percent. **

**Darkrainbow: Thanks for everything! I'm so glad you enjoy my story! I have some really really really good ideas for a story with your OC in it, but I don't know when I'll have the time to write it. Ahhh, I hate school so much! Anyways, please just hang on for the story! I will try to get it started and posted as soon as humanly possible, and I promise it will be really good! BTW, I loved the cookie! :)**

**So, in conclusion, Review, Favorite, Follow, or heck, even recommend this story to your friends! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will be back next week, I promise!**

**~Shadow**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey, how's it been? I've been crazy busy all weekend, but here's the next chapter, as promised!**

_**I don't own Ninjago.**_

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**Chapter Twelve: _ The Journey_**

Kai couldn't believe it. "Our parents? What do you mean?"

"While I was concentrating – saw a vision – our parents!" The words tumbled out of Anna's mouth so fast that Kai could barely understand them.

"Wait! Take a deep breath," Kai commanded Anna. "Now tell me everything from the beginning."

Anna took in a deep breath of air, then exhaled slowly. "Okay. You're probably not going to believe this, but when I was standing there trying to figure out our powers, I saw a vision, or something."

"A vision? Of what?" questioned Kai.

"I'm not exactly sure," Anna admitted. "First, I saw myself in my childhood home looking through old photos and papers. Then, that scene melted away, and I was face to face with our parents."

"How can you tell it was them?" Kai asked. "You've never met my parents before."

"And you were too young to remember them," Anna retorted. "What's your point? I'm positive that one of the people was my father. Plus, I could see the resemblance between you and another person there. I'm guessing he was your father. As for the last person, well, she was the only lady there. Your mother, probably."

She paused for a moment to let the information sink in. "Happy now?"

"Yeah, I believe you," Kai said. "But when you saw our parents, did you happen to notice where they were?" A hint of hopefulness rose in his voice.

"About that," Anna said. She rubbed the back of her head. "I couldn't tell."

"That's just great!" Kai yelled sarcastically. "A lot of good that does us!"

"I'm sorry!" Anna yelled back. "But the next time you have an unexpected vision that could potentially change your whole entire life, I want to see you try to remember the tiny details!"

"Tiny details?!" Kai shouted. "You call the location of our parents that have been missing for years a 'tiny detail'?"

"Will you please be quiet for ten seconds and let me finish?" Anna asked in exasperation.

Kai looked like he was about to say something back, but he kept his mouth shut.

The two teens remained silent for a few moments.

"Well?" Kai said after a while. He nodded his head in Anna's direction. "Go on."

"When I saw our parents, the one thing I did notice was that they had huge iron shackles around their wrists and ankles. Wherever they are, they're being held captive there," Anna explained.

"Is there anything else?" Kai prodded. "You have to be able to remember at least one thing about the surroundings."

"Well..." Anna thought about it for a moment. "Oh yeah! How could I forget? Whatever place I saw, it was really dark there. And misty. Don't even ask me how I was able to see our parents, because I have no idea. It was like they were in some kind of spotlight."

"Sounds a lot like the Underworld to me," Kai noted. "Dark, misty, depressing. That pretty much sums up what the Underworld's like."

"No. It definitely wasn't the Underworld," Anna said. "Trust me. I've been there before. It looks nothing like this new place does. Besides, if our parents were in the Underworld, my mom would have found them already, and she wouldn't still be working for Garmadon."

"Really?" Kai asked incredulously. "Are we talking about the same person here? Because when I met your mom, she seemed pretty evil to me."

Anna recoiled as if she had been slapped. "Kai! She's not evil! Don't say that!"

"Why not? If I remember correctly, you weren't exactly the nicest person to her either," Kai pointed out.

"I know. Believe me, I regret all those things I said. After I thought about it, I realized that I probably would have done the same thing in her place. But now that we have a lead on where our parents are, maybe I can convince my mom to quit working for Garmadon," Anna said.

"I wouldn't count on it," Kai said grimly. "Even if she wants to quit, it's not like Garmadon is just going to let her leave. She knows too much now."

"She's my mother, Kai. I have to try," said Anna, matching Kai's dire tone.

The two teens thought about that for a while. Neither one said anything to the other.

Then Anna noticed that the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon. She figured that it must be around 7:00 in the morning. The rest of the team would be waking up soon. If Kai and Anna didn't start heading back to the Bounty now, they'd get suspicious.

Kai must have seen the sun rising, too. As if he were reading Anna's thoughts, he said, "We'd better get back soon. The others will start wondering where in Ninjago we are."

"No. We can't," Anna said simply.

"Wait, why?" Kai asked. Then a look of realization crossed his face. "Oh, I get it. You want to go and try to look for our parents, right?"

"What? Are you going to try to stop me?" Anna snapped.

"I never said that!" Kai protested. "I totally get that you want to get your parents back. So do I. But it's not that easy to just leave to go on an expedition that could take months."

"And why not?" Anna challenged.

"Well, for one, we can't just leave the rest of the team high and dry. They'll be worried about us!" said Kai.

"We can always send them a note explaining everything. I'm sure they'll understand."

"That's not the point! Whether or not you like it, we're part of a team, and that means we can't abandon each other!" Kai said. "What if the guys get into a really bad fight with the Serpentine or Skeletons and they can't hold them off because they're outnumbered too badly? What happens then?" Kai questioned.

"That's for Cole to worry about. He's the leader, not me," Anna said with a shrug. Then, seeing Kai's disapproving glare, she quickly added, "Please, Kai. I need to go. Don't you see that?"

"Yes, I get it," Kai said. "But what makes you think you can even find our parents at all? Your brother has been searching for years, and he hasn't even gotten close to finding them yet."

"This will be different," Anna assured Kai. "We actually have a lead. According to my vision, there's something in my old house that will lead us to my dad and your parents."

"What do you mean by 'we'? Who ever said I was going?" Kai pointed out.

"Really, I don't care what you do," Anna said. "All I know is that I'm going to find my father."

"Well, I'm not about to let you go alone," Kai said firmly. "Which way is it to your house?"

"That way," Anna said, pointing off to the east. Then she added, "I knew you would come around."

"If I didn't come, then who would keep you out of trouble?" Kai said.

"Hey, I can take care of myself!" Anna said, slightly offended. She decided to let the subject drop, though. She was just happy that Kai was going to come with her.

"Let's go, or we're never going to make it by sunset," she said as she started walking. "My village is pretty far away from here."

"Wait! Don't leave without me!" Kai yelled and ran after Anna. He eventually caught up with her, and the two walked in step off towards Anna's hometown.

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"Hey, Anna. Do you have any idea where we are?" Kai asked after they had been walking for a few hours.

Anna had stopped in the middle of a thick forest, and she was glancing around in all directions.

"Not really. How about you?"

"Okay, it's official. We're lost," Kai sighed.

"We're not lost!" Anna said. "I know the general direction we should be going. I just don't remember this forest being here."

"Well, obviously this forest didn't just grow magically overnight," said Kai. "You must have made a wrong turn somewhere."

"I don't think so," replied Anna. "I'm usually pretty good with directions..."

All of a sudden, a deafening roar shook the entire forest, louder than a dozen lions all roaring simultaneously.

Then, after a few seconds, the mysterious noise stopped just as suddenly as it started.

"Did you hear that?" Anna asked after the noise had stopped.

"How could I not?" Kai said.

"Good. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't hallucinating again." Anna stared straight ahead, towards the heart of the forest. Towards where the noise had come from.

Turning to Kai, she asked, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah. Let's follow it."

Kai and Anna forged deeper into the thick forest, following the sound that they had heard earlier. Every ten minutes or so, the roar would tear through the forest again. At one point, it got so loud that Anna and Kai had to cover their ears.

Soon the two reached the center of the forest, but they couldn't find the source of the noise.

"Whatever's making that noise must be moving pretty fast," Anna said when she and Kai stopped to catch their breath.

"That just means that we'll have to move faster," said Kai, and he dashed off again through the forest.

"Kai! Wait!" yelled Anna, and she sprinted after him.

After running for what seemed like forever, Kai stopped so abruptly that Anna ran into him.

"Sorry," Anna said, embarrassed.

Kai ignored her. Instead, he held his finger up to his lips. "Shh! Don't move."

Anna froze. "What? What's wrong?"

"Look." Kai pointed to the clearing in front of them, and suddenly Anna knew why Kai was so upset.

Only a few hundred feet in front of them was a gigantic dragon. It would have been a breathtaking sight, with beautiful emerald colored scales covering its entire body and sea green spines lining its tail, back, and legs.

The only problem was the dragon was thrashing around, breathing fire, and destroying everything in the surrounding area with its razor sharp claws.

"What are we going to do?" Anna whispered to Kai. "We have to get around it somehow if we ever want to get to my house."

"I don't know, but there's no way that we can get anywhere near that dragon. It'll cut us into ribbons," Kai said.

"Wait! I think I know what's wrong!" Anna exclaimed. Then, before Kai could say anything, she started approaching the rampaging dragon.

"What are you doing?" Kai hissed. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Anna flashed Kai a grin. "Trust me. I know what I'm doing."

Anna crept towards the dragon while its back was turned to her. Once she got to the edge of the clearing, she broke into a run. Then she jumped up and landed on the back of the dragon.

Although the dragon hadn't noticed her before, it definitely noticed her now, and it wasn't too happy about her being on its back.

The dragon thrashed around even more violently than before, trying to shake Anna from its back.

Against all odds, Anna clung onto the dragon, and she edged closer and closer to its neck.

Finally, Kai realized what Anna's plan was. A huge piece of wood was lodged between the scales on the dragon's neck. That must be what was causing the dragon to go crazy. It was in pain!

Just as Kai had predicted, Anna grabbed the piece of wood and tugged on it as hard as she could.

After a few more yanks, the wood came free, and Anna tossed it aside.

Immediately, the dragon calmed down.

Anna jumped down off the creature's back and stood in front of it. Then she started petting its head and talking to it.

Kai was astounded. He ran out to the clearing.

He hesitated when the dragon turned to face him, but Anna reassured him.

"It's okay, Kai. He won't hurt you." Then Anna went back to stroking the dragon's scales.

"Okay, how did you do that?" Kai asked once he was standing next to Anna.

Anna stopped petting the dragon and turned to face Kai. "I'm not really sure, actually. I just saw that it was in pain, and I wanted to help."

"Well, just don't ever try anything like that again," Kai said sternly. "For a second there, I was afraid that we'd have one less ninja on our team when this was over."

"Wait, that's it!" Anna exclaimed, her face lighting up. "Kai, you're a genius!"

"Thanks. At least someone around here acknowledges my talents!" Kai said.

Anna continued, ignoring Kai's comment. "The reason why this dragon likes me so much is because it's an elemental dragon! Probably the elemental dragon of nature, to be exact."

"I guess that makes sense," Kai agreed. "You did train as Cole's apprentice for a pretty long time, after all."

"You hear that, Razor? You're officially my dragon now!" Anna said to the dragon.

"Razor? That's what you named him?" Kai asked.

"Why? Do you have a problem with that?" Anna snapped.

"No, but what are we going to do with him? We can't just leave him here, and we can't take him with us because we're trying to keep a low profile. So what's your plan?" questioned Kai.

"You'll see." Anna pulled a crumpled piece of paper and a miniature pencil out of her pocket, then quickly wrote down a short note. She put the note in Razor's claw and closed his talons around it.

"I need you to deliver this to my friends, alright, Razor?"

The dragon gave a joyful roar and bobbed its head up and down. Then it spread its wings out to either side and flew off in the direction of the Destiny's Bounty.

Once Razor was out of sight, Kai asked, "What makes you think that he'll be able to find the other ninjas?"

"Wherever the others are, they probably have their dragons with them. And since all dragons have the a sort of built in radar to find others of their kind no matter how far away they are, I'm pretty sure the message will get through," Anna said.

"Okay, so at least our friends won't be worried, but we're still lost," Kai pointed out.

"Not anymore," Anna said, smiling. "Look."

Kai peered through the trees and saw a path leading out of the forest. The path went on for a mile or so, then led straight into a small village.

"That village, is it your hometown?" Kai asked.

"Yep. It hasn't changed a bit since I left," Anna replied. Then she added silently, "Don't worry, Dad. I'm coming."

And the pair started walking down the path that would eventually lead them to their parents.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys liked it! I made this chapter extra long, as an apology for not updating a few weeks ago and then giving you a super short chapter. **

**On a different note, just to let you guys know, this story is about halfway over. So what do you think so far? I'm guessing you like it, or else you probably wouldn't still be reading this!**

**BTW, thanks so much for the reviews I got on last chapter: Darkrainbow, ZaneLoverFan88, and Hot Shot Fangirl.**

**Response to Reviews:**

**Darkrainbow: No! Don't get rid of your OC! You didn't make her badly, and I don't think that she's a Mary-Sue. If other people don't like her, then that's their problem. I think that she's perfect for the next story I'm going to write, which I will put up as soon as possible. So just hang in there! :)**

**ZaneLoverFan88: You don't know how happy I am that you like Kai and Anna's powers. When I was writing about them, I thought that everyone would think that they were lame. So thanks, you really made my day!**

**Hot Shot Fangirl: I'm glad you like the story so much, and here's the next chapter!**

**That's it, guys. Review, Favorite, and Follow, and I'll be back next week!**

**~Shadow**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Happy Easter, everyone! I hope your day was as awesome as mine! And if it wasn't, I have an extra long chapter for you as a present. Hope you like it!**

_**I don't own Ninjago. (If you guys didn't already get the message.)**_

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**Chapter Thirteen: **_**Lies and Deception**_

The continual beeping of her alarm clock roused Nya from her deep slumber. She sat up, slammed the snooze button on the clock, then got back into bed.

Nya tried to fall back asleep, but for some reason she had a feeling something wasn't quite right.

Ever since Anna had gotten used to waking up fairly early for training exercises, she would already be up and about by the time Nya's alarm went off. One thing she would never let Nya do was hit the snooze button.

"Evil never sleeps, and neither should we," Anna had always said. "We're ninja, and that means it's our responsibility to stay alert at all times."

But today, the room Nya shared with Anna was completely silent. No one had given Nya a speech when she'd hit the snooze button.

Nya sat up in her bed. Her gaze immediately rested on Anna's bed, where she expected to see Anna still resting, perhaps sick. What she did see, however, was very different.

The bed was empty. Anna was gone.

Nya jumped out of her bed and rushed to get dressed.

She had to tell the others. What had happened to Anna?

Nya flew down the stairs to the game room. That was the most likely place for the others to be at this time of day.

Sure enough, when Nya burst through the door to the game room, she found Jay, Cole, and Zane all sitting on the wrap-around couch. But not Kai.

A million thoughts raced through Nya's mind, but instead of letting herself get overwhelmed, she decided to ask the most pressing question.

"Where are Kai and Anna?"

Immediately the three ninja jumped to their feet.

"Anna's missing, too?" Cole asked with obvious concern in his voice.

"What do you mean, 'missing too'?" Nya demanded. "What's going on here?"

"We have no idea," Jay said. "When we woke up this morning, Kai wasn't anywhere to be found."

"Yes," Zane agreed. "We have searched the entire ship, but Kai is not here. It is as if he has vanished into thin air."

"What about Anna? Have you seen her?" asked Nya.

"No, we just assumed she was still sleeping," Jay said.

"Well, we can't just stand here!" Nya declared, panic rising in her voice. "This is my brother and my best friend we're talking about! We have to do something!"

Cole was the first one to take charge of the situation. "We'll spread out and search the surrounding area. Wherever they are, they couldn't have gotten very far."

The ninjas ran above deck and spread out to search for their two missing teammates.

After scouring the small clearing where the Destiny's Bounty was anchored, the ninjas continued looking into the surrounding forest.

No matter how long and hard they looked, no one was able to find any traces of either Kai or Anna.

"I don't see them anywhere!" Nya called to the others after a while.

"Keep looking! They have to be out here somewhere!" Cole called back from somewhere off to Nya's right.

"Wouldn't it be wiser if we used our dragons to aid us in our search?" Zane asked. "That way, we could have a better vantage point of the area."

"Good idea, Zane," Jay complimented.

The ninjas all met up back at the Bounty, then ran over to where their elemental dragons were kept. When they got there, each ninja mounted his respective dragon, and Nya took Kai's dragon. Once they were all ready, they shook the reins and gave the command for the dragons to take to the skies; however, the dragons didn't budge.

The four teens urged their dragons again and again to take off, but to no avail.

"Come on, Rocky! What's the matter with you?" Cole asked as he tried to get his dragon to cooperate. "Fly already!"

The dragon paid no attention to its owner's commands. Instead, it reared up and roared in protest, flinging Cole from its back in the process. Cole soared through the air before landing hard on his back with a thud.

"Oww...," Cole moaned in pain. He slowly sat up and rubbed his head. "That's going to leave a mark."

"Okay, something is definitely up with our dragons," Jay commented.

"No, you think?" Cole called sarcastically from his position on the ground. He was still holding his head in his hands.

"There has to be some reason why the dragons are acting this way," Nya said.

Just then, the ninjas all heard a powerful roar that didn't come from any of their dragons. Looking into the sky, they saw the silhouette of a dragon flying towards them from the east.

"Another elemental dragon," Zane breathed in awe. "That's why our dragons didn't leave. They could sense that dragon was coming, and they wanted to welcome it into their midst."

The dragon kept flying closer and closer until it finally landed right in front of the ninjas.

At this range, the ninjas could clearly see how beautiful this dragon was. Its emerald scales glistened in the sun, and the row of spines down its back had a sleek look to them. Whoever owned this dragon was clearly lucky to have such a magnificent beast.

The dragon bowed its head slightly, almost as if it were human. Then, it extended one of its front claws. It gently unfolded its talons to reveal a small scrap of paper with writing all over it.

Nya was the first to react. She jumped down from the dragon she was mounted on and snatched up the paper.

She began reading it while the other ninjas watched her silently in anticipation. Whe she was finished, she looked up at her teammates.

"It's from Kai and Anna," she said quietly.

"What? It is?" Jay asked, sounding confused. "How did they get that dragon to carry a message for them?"

"Kai and Anna? Are they okay? Where are they?" Cole added.

Nya was beginning to get flustered at all of their questions.

"Not so fast, guys!" she said, trying to calm everyone down. "First of all, Kai and Anna are safe. They sneaked out earlier this morning because they think they have a lead on where to find their parents. The note says that there's no need for us to follow them, and they'll be back in no time."

Nya glanced around at the expressions on her friends' faces as they comprehended the news.

"Any other questions?" she asked.

"Yeah," Cole spoke up, "did the note say where Anna and Kai were headed?"

"Umm..." Nya scanned the paper in her hands. "Yes. It says that they're going to a small village called Verdania in the eastern part of Ninjago. Why do you ask?"

"Because that's where we're going, too," Cole declared.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"How come it seems like we've been walking for hours, but the village isn't getting any closer?" Kai complained as he and Anna walked down the cobblestone path to Anna's hometown.

"I guess this shortcut is a little longer than we originally thought," Anna answered.

"Once we get into the village, what makes you think that your old house will still be there?" Kai questioned. "I mean, it's been vacant for how many years?"

"Only one and a half years," Anna replied. "Plus, nothing ever changes in Verdania. It's one of the smallest villages in all of Ninjago. I'll bet you that everything there looks exactly the same as it did when I left home."

"If you say so," Kai said. "But I'm still not getting my hopes up."

When the two finally reached the village, Kai could see that Anna was right. Verdania was one of the smallest towns he had ever seen. It was much smaller than his home in Ignacia.

All the businesses in the town were arranged along the same cobblestone road that Anna and Kai had followed here. It appeared to be the main road in the town; perhaps because it was the only road.

Beyond the businesses, Kai could count about a dozen homes. That was it in the entire village.

If Kai had to guess, he'd probably say that the reason for Verdania's size was because it was surrounded by thick forests on all sides. There was no telling what could be in those forests. The majority of wooded ares had probably never been explored by humans, so anything could be living there, really...

"Kai! Are you coming?" Anna's voice brought Kai out of his thoughts and back to reality.

Kai looked forward to see that Anna was already several yards ahead. She had turned around and was waiting for him.

"Yeah, wait up!" Kai called back and ran to catch up with Anna.

"So where exactly is your house?" Kai asked once they started walking again.

"Well, it's not really that close to any of the main shops here," Anna answered. "But it's still technically within the city limits. Just kind of secluded, that's all. You'll like it."

Soon the two came to a small house nestled between two stands of trees.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Anna said, gesturing to the house.

"Really? This is your house?" Kai said in disbelief. "It looks pretty rough."

What Kai said was true. Vines were crawling up the sides of the brick house. Weeds sprang up from the cracks in the sidewalk, and trash blew across the lawn. Even the windows had gotten so dirty that the inside of the house wasn't visible through them.

"Hey, that's what happens if you let a house go for a while," Anna said. "Honestly, I'm surprised it doesn't look worse."

Anna and Kai walked up the cracked cement walk to the front door.

"Do you have any ideas on how to get into the house?" Kai asked.

"Actually, yes, I do," Anna replied. She stepped in front of Kai and gave the door a solid shove. To Kai's amazement, the door swung wide open.

"After you," Anna said to Kai.

"How did you –," Kai started. "So you mean that you left your house unlocked all that time?"

"Yep," Anna answered. "I told you, Verdania is a small village. No one's going to break in and steal anything."

Kai and Anna cautiously walked inside the abandoned house. Most of the furniture and other items looked untouched, but a fine layer of dust coated everything.

"Okay, so in my vision, I was looking through some old papers," Anna said. "I think I have an idea of where we can find those. I remember that my mom always kept a big cardboard box full of photos and documents in the closet in her room upstairs."

"Sounds good to me," Kai agreed. "Let's go."

The two teens walked up the old wooden stairs to get to the second floor. Every time they put their weight on a step, it would creak in protest.

When they got upstairs, they headed straight for the master bedroom.

Anna, not wasting any time, crossed the room and pulled a tattered old box from the top shelf in the closet. She dumped the contents out on the bed and started searching through the old papers.

After a few moments, she called Kai over.

"Hey, look at this!" she said, holding up a worn leather-bound journal. "It's my father's old journal! Here, I'll read the last entry."

Anna flipped to the last few pages of the book and started reading: "July 28. We think we have found the secret hiding place of Sombrus' evil fortress. We will leave tomorrow night to investigate the forests surrounding the village. Lillian pleaded with me not to go, but even she knows that I have to. I have to put an end to Sombrus' plan, or else there will be nothing stopping him from taking Ninjago."

Anna closed the book and looked up at Kai. "What do you think? Do you have any ideas where our parents could be now?"

"Not really," Kai admitted. "I do have a few questions, though. First of all, who is this Sombrus guy that your dad keeps talking about? Second, why did your dad keep writing 'we'? Who else did he take with him to investigate?"

"I don't know," Anna sighed. "All I do know is that we're back at square one. We still don't have any ideas where our parents could be."

"But maybe we do!" Kai exclaimed. "You read that your dad was going to investigate the forests around the village, right? What if he took my parents with him, and they got captured in the forest by Sombrus and never returned?"

Anna grinned. "That's ingenious, Kai! And it makes total sense, too!"

"Of course it does," Kai said.

"So what are we waiting for?" Anna asked. "Let's go rescue our parents!"

Anna threw the journal back down on the bed. She and Kai raced down the stairs to the front door, eager to see their parents again.

They both stopped short when they reached the doorway.

There, standing right in front of them in perfect formation, was the entire skeleton army.

What shocked Anna the most was the person commanding the army.

"Hello, Anna," said Lillian. "It took me a while to track you down, but I knew you'd come back here eventually. Either way, you can't stay here. I'm taking you and Kai back to the Underworld. Now."

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**A/N: How was it? Please tell me in a review, I'd really like to know what you think!**

**A gigantic thanks to all my reviewers for last chapter: ZaneLoverFan88, Darkrainbow, iluvninjagothenextstepgirl, and KAIISCOOL. You guys are the best!**

**Response to reviews:**

**Darkrainbow - Aww, thanks so much! That really means a lot to me! And the cookies were delicious and filling, by the way ;)**

**KAIISCOOL - How can I put this gently... Kai and Anna will most likely NOT become a couple. But we'll see.**

**Anyway, please Review, Favorite, Follow, and most of all, enjoy your week! I probably won't because my Easter break is over and I have to go back to school from tomorrow, but oh well!**

**See you next week,**

**~Shadow**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hi everyone! You will not believe how much trouble I had uploading this. FanFiction was giving me such a hard time, but I finally got it to work. So, enjoy Chapter 14!**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: **_**The Truth Revealed**_

"Mom?!" Anna exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Before Lillian even had a chance to answer, Kai took a step in front of Anna and crossed his arms.

"No way!" he yelled. "If you want Anna, then you'll have to get through me first! So just back off, you witch!"

"Kai!" Anna said in shock. She stepped up next to Kai and grabbed his arm. "We don't have to fight. There's got to be another way."

Then to Lillian she said, "I'm not going to fight you, Mom. If you want to turn me over to Garmadon, then fine. Just promise not to take Kai. But before you do anything, I just want you to know that I thought about what I said earlier, and I'm sorry."

Lillian ignored Anna's comment. "That's it! I don't have time to deal with this. Guards!"

Two armed skeleton warriors stepped forward and stood next to Lillian. Then all three of them advanced towards Kai and Anna.

"Mom, please! You don't have to do this!" Anna pleaded. "I know why you're working for Garmadon. He promised to find Dad for you, right? Well, I know where Dad is!"

Anna saw Lillian's steely expression falter for one moment. Then, almost as if it had never left, the scowl returned to her face. She marched up to Kai and Anna, grabbed their wrists, and twisted them behind the two teens' backs.

What she did next surprised Anna. Lillian leaned closer to Anna and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry. I'm on your side. Just follow my lead."

Then a little louder, Lillian said, "Guards! Seize these two prisoners!"

Immediately, the two skeletons standing a few feet behind Lillian grabbed Kai and Anna and bound their wrists. "The rest of you! Open a portal to the Underworld! Let's get our prisoners back to Garmadon!"

A few of the higher ranking generals in the army appeared out of the sea of skeletons and raised their weapons over their bony heads. All of a sudden, a gigantic, swirling purple portal appeared in front of the army.

"Go on ahead," Lillian commanded the army. "I'll stay behind to make sure the prisoners don't escape."

At her command, the skeleton army began marching through the portal. Once almost all of the skeletons had traveled through the portal, Lillian put her plan into action.

Just as the two skeleton guards were about to take Kai and Anna through the portal, Lillian cut the ropes that bound their wrists together with her knife.

The two ninjas didn't need to be told twice. Fast as lightning, they pounced on the two warriors. The skeletons were no match for Kai and Anna, and soon the two warriors lay on the ground, knocked out cold.

"What are we going to do with them?" Kai asked, gesturing to the two unconscious skeletons at their feet.

"We can't just leave them here," Anna agreed.

Nobody spoke for a moment. Then Lillian said, "Help me lift them up. I think I have an idea."

Even though they had no idea where this was going, Kai and Anna reluctantly agreed. Soon they had both skeletons hoisted up off the ground.

"Okay, so what do we do now, Miss Know-It-All?" Kai questioned Lillian.

"Kai!" Anna shot Kai a dangerous glare. "How about showing a little more respect to the person who just saved you?"

"It's alright, Anna," Lillian said, calming her daughter. Then to Kai, she answered, "I think our best bet is to tosses them back into that portal."

"Finally, an idea that makes sense," Kai said. Then, he and Anna threw the skeletons one at a time through the portal, being careful not to get too close themselves.

They were just in time. A few seconds later, the portal in front of Kai, Anna, and Lillian disappeared with a gust of wind.

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"I'm sure glad that's taken care of," Kai said. "I really didn't want to have to explain why two skeleton warriors were running around outside of Verdania. Okay, let's go, Anna."

Anna paid no attention to what Kai had said. Instead, she ran over to her mother and enveloped her in a hug.

"Mom! I'm so glad you're back! I've missed you so much!" Anna sobbed.

Lillian wrapped her arms around Anna. "I've missed you, too. I'm so sorry for everything I ever did to you and Kai. Even though I had good intentions, I realized that I was wrong to work for Garmadon."

She paused, then after a moment, continued with tears in her eyes. "I thought that your power was too strong. I had seen it rip apart our and Kai's families, and I didn't want it to harm anyone else. But now I see that I never should have doubted you. You've learned how to harness your power, and now you've become stronger than ever."

Anna and her mother stood there for a while, holding each other, not wanting to be separated ever again.

It was Lillian who finally broke free from Anna's embrace. She turned to Kai. "I understand if you don't trust me. I've made a mess of things, and I know that you don't want to forgive me. I can't change your mind, but I can and will do everything I can to help. So tell me, what do you know about my husband?"

Kai was silent for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to trust Lillian with the information he and Anna had found. Then he saw Anna give him an almost imperceptible nod. Even if he wasn't sure he could trust Lillian, he trusted Anna's judgement more than anything. If Anna said that Lillian could be trusted, then Kai could believe it.

"Well, it all started when Anna had a vision about our parents," Kai explained. "She said that she saw them being held captive somewhere dark, misty, and forested."

Lillian looked like she was about to say something, but Kai cut her off.

"No, it wasn't the Underworld," he said. "Anyway, the next part of Anna's vision showed her in her old house looking through papers, so that's where we decided to go next."

"While we were at the house, we found an old journal that used to belong to Dad," Anna continued. "By reading it, we've concluded that Kai's parents and my father were captured on their mission to bring the evil Sombrus to justice, and they've been held prisoner in the Verdania forest ever since!"

Lillian didn't say anything.

"What do you think?" Anna prodded. "Pretty smart, huh? Well, actually, Kai came up with that theory, but still..."

"It is a brilliant theory, Anna, but really, it's just that – a theory," Lillian replied.

"Wait. So you mean that's not what really happened?" Kai asked, sounding disappointed.

"If only it had been that simple," Lillian sighed.

"Let's hear it, then!" Anna said impatiently. "I think you've kept us in the dark long enough. We have a right to know what happened to our own parents!"

"I suppose you do, Anna," Lillian agreed reluctantly. "I'll tell you then. The story takes place on Kai's birthday – July 28 – many years ago. It was the day Kai was turning four years old. The celebration had been planned long in advance, and as Kai's family's neighbors, my family offered to host the party."

"Wait, we were neighbors?!" Kai and Anna exclaimed at almost the same time.

"Yes, for a time," Lillian replied. "The two of you got along so well. You were the best of friends."

"No wonder I felt like I recognized you when you first came to the Bounty!" Kai exclaimed. "I knew I wasn't going crazy."

"C'mon, Mom, continue the story," Anna said in annoyance. "Stop stalling."

"Okay. On the day of the party, everyone arrived at our house, just as planned," Lillian continued. "However, that's about all that went as planned. Unfortunately, that same day was the day that Kai's parents and your father had planned to set off to find Sombrus, just as you said. I begged them not to go, but they refused to listen to me. So I pleaded with them to at least wait until the party was over to leave. Luckily, they agreed to that."

"They weren't even going to stay for the party?" Kai said in disbelief.

"Will you stop interrupting?" Lillian snapped.

"Fine, whatever," Kai mumbled.

"Thank you. Kai's parents arrived at our house, bringing not only party supplies but also all the equipment they needed for their trip. One of the items they brought was an ancient relic found in Verdania's forests. It amplified the elemental powers of anyone who touched it."

"Oh, you mean that statuette you always kept in the glass case on the mantle?" Anna asked. "That originally belonged to Kai's dad?"

"Yes, it did," Lillian answered. "Kai's parents had brought it with them, hoping that it could help them defeat Sombrus. However, they carelessly left their supplies on the floor in the dining room, and you and Kai soon got ahold of the relic when they weren't looking. By the time we realized that you two had the relic, it was too late. Kai's parents and my husband tried to take it off of you, but your elemental powers had already become uncontrollable. As soon as the three adults got close to you two, they disappeared in a flash of light."

"That's terrible," Anna whispered. "I never knew that's what really happened."

"And to think it was all our fault," Kai added.

"I didn't want you two to have to live with that guilt, so I tried to make the whole incident seem like it never happened," Lillian said. "I took the relic and put it in an off-limits glass case. I sent Kai and Nya to the other side of Ninjago to be raised with some of my friends in Ignacia. Lastly, I told Bryce, Anna's older brother who had not been there at the party, that his father had died while exploring."

"What? You lied to Bryce?!" Anna yelled. "How could you?"

"I realize now that I was wrong to try to cover up what happened," Lillian said sadly. "I was trying to help, but I ended up just hurting more people. As soon as I told Bryce his father was dead, he ran away from home, and I haven't seen him ever since."

"That's why Bryce ran away?" Anna asked in shock. "Why did you lie to him and not me? You never told me Dad was dead."

"Because I knew that if I told Bryce the truth, he would stop at nothing to try to find his father. You, on the other hand, wouldn't have dared to leave on your own even if you knew you father was out there somewhere," Lillian explained.

"Well, your plan didn't work!" Anna yelled angrily. "Bryce ran away anyway and he's still out there right now trying to find Dad!"

"He is?" Lillian asked. "Is he okay? Oh, I wish I could take back what I said..."

"'Bryce is fine, Mom," Anna promised, her voice softer now. "But we're not doing ourselves any good by sitting here regretting our actions. The only thing we can do that's going to fix everything is find our parents. So let's go!"

"Wait," said Lillian. "There's one more thing." She dashed inside her house, not bothering to shut the door behind her. A few minutes later, she ran back out, carrying a small object in her hands. When she reached Kai and Anna, she held out the object for them to see.

It was a small marble statuette, only about the size of a paperweight. Even though it didn't resemble anything in particular, its distinguishing feature was every inch of the marble was covered in intricate carvings.

"Take this relic with you," Lillian suggested. "It may help you to defeat your parents' captor. I trust that you are capable enough now to control the relic's power."

"Thanks, Mom!" Anna beamed. "But aren't you coming with us?"

"Only if Kai allows me to," Lillian replied.

Anna and Lillian both turned to look at Kai. He seemed to be wrestling with a million thoughts in his head. Then he finally spoke.

"Sure, why not?" he said, forcing a smile. "The more the merrier."

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**A/N: So, I know a couple chapters ago I said we were about halfway through the story. But, I thought about it again, and I realized that there will be only about 3 to 4 more chapters after this one. That's not a whole lot! I just wanted to thank you all in advance for reading, and I hope you're as excited about this story's conclusion as I am!**

**Also, thank you thank you THANK YOU to my awesome reviewers: ZaneLoverFan88, Darkrainbow, and TwilightLife. **

**Response to Reviews:**

**Darkrainbow: Huh, I didn't know you hated Anna's mom like that. Just curious, now that she's on Anna and Kai's side, do you still hate her? Also, thanks for the Easter cookies, I loved them. ;)**

**TwilightLife: To answer your questions, no, yes, and yes they will, eventually!**

**One more thing, guys. I'm planning on uploading a new story called Ninjago Academy sometime this week. I'm super excited for it, and I hope you guys will go check it out! That's all, so see you then!**

**~Shadow**

**P.S. - Review, Favorite, and/or Follow, please! It would make me really happy!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Fifteen: _Crossing the Boundaries_**

"Defeating Sombrus will be no easy task," Lillian warned as she, Kai and Anna walked towards the forest. After retrieving the relic from her house, Lillian had insisted that they get moving as quickly as possible.

"Woah, Mom, take it one step at a time," Anna laughed. "First of all, we have to find the right part of the forest. I mean, the forest around here are huge. Next, we have to find our parents in the forest. After we do all that, _then _we can worry about defeating Sombrus."

"You should still be aware of what you two are getting yourselves into," Lillian insisted. "I would understand if you didn't want to continue."

"Mom, trust us, we want to do this," Anna declared firmly. "Right, Kai?"

"Lillian, we're doing this for my parents and your husband," Kai reminded her. "And we've come this far already. Do you seriously think we would back down now? Because if you do, you're crazy!"

"Okay, I understand," Lillian laughed.

The three continued to walk farther and farther away from the village.

Despite the dire situation they were in, Anna couldn't help but be awestruck by the beautiful scenery of Verdania. Though the town itself was small, it did not lack any foliage. Beautiful wildflowers bloomed all around in vibrant shades of blue, red, and purple. Above the ninja's and Lillian's heads, thick tree branches arced over the pathway. Anna noticed that some of the trees even bore juicy, round fruits resembling apples.

Anna took a deep breath and inhaled the sweet scent in the air. Somehow, the scenery calmed her. It reminded her of the days when she was younger and was surrounded by this kind of serenity all the time.

Suddenly, memories of her past flooded back to Anna.

Playing hide-and-seek among the groves of trees…

Picnics with her family during the spring…

The lazy summer days where all she would do was lie on her back and watch the clouds go by.

Anna would give anything to have her life back to the way it was then.

_But that's what you're doing now_, Anna reminded herself. _Once you free your father, everything will be just as it was._

While Anna was still daydreaming, she didn't even notice the fact that Kai and Lillian had stopped. Anna kept walking ahead, until finally she walked straight into Kai.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Anna apologized, regaining her balance. "I should have been paying attention to where I was going, but I was daydreaming instead…"

"It's okay, Anna," Kai assured her. "I know, you're probably thinking about how this rescue mission is going to go. So am I. But we'll get our parents back, I promise."

Anna smiled. "Thanks, Kai. Leave it to you to make me feel better."

"Are you two done?" Lillian questioned, interrupting their conversation.

Only then did Kai and Anna remember that Lillian came with them. She had been so quiet the whole time, they had barely even noticed her.

Kai and Anna quickly turned away from each other, embarrassed.

"I think this is the place where your parents most likely are," Lillian continued. "My husband showed me this place once. He wanted me to come with him and Kai's parents on their mission, but I refused. Someone had to stay back and take care of the children, I said."

Anna looked around. The path they were on was no longer shaded by fruit trees. Instead, twisted old oaks grew densely in the surrounding area. Their leaves were so thick that they blocked out the sunshine altogether, leaving Anna shivering and feeling uneasy. She didn't want to stay here any longer than necessary, so she decided to speak up.

"If this is the place, then why are we just standing here?" she asked. Then, without waiting for an answer, she forged ahead into the forest in front of her.

Kai and Lillian had no choice but to follow Anna. They, too, plunged deeper into the twisted oak forest. Once they caught up with Anna, the three walked in step down the winding dirt path.

Anna began to get a distinct sense that something wasn't quite right. She ignored it, though, and kept walking.

After several minutes of hiking through the forest, the foliage began to thin out a bit up ahead.

"Look, Kai, a clearing! Maybe that's where our parents are!" exclaimed Anna, trying to remain optimistic.

She didn't really convince anyone, though, and she hadn't convinced herself, either. Anna knew what her mother and Kai were thinking because she was thinking the same thing herself: It can't possibly be this easy. The clearing must be a trick, or worse yet, a trap. Whatever it was that awaited them up ahead, Anna had a feeling that it wasn't her and Kai's parents.

Kai must have had the same feeling of dread as Anna.

"Be careful, guys. We have no idea what's waiting for us down this path," he warned. "Remember, we're in the enemy's territory now. We'd better watch our backs."

So Lillian, Kai and Anna continued towards the clearing, but now with increased caution. They tiptoed down the path, hiding behind trees and avoiding stepping on anything that would give them away. Their goal was to keep to the shadows as much as possible.

It took longer for the three to get to the clearing this way, but it was crucial to their mission that they stay hidden. They were the only hope for Anna and Kai's parents.

Finally, they reached the clearing.

When Anna looked around, her jaw dropped.

"What the heck?" she muttered. "How is that even possible?"

They were back at the same place that they had started. The fruit trees, the wide dirt road, the fragrant smell in the air – all of it was exactly the same as the place they just left minutes ago.

Lillian and Kai were just as shocked when they saw the clearing.

"What happened?" Kai wondered aloud. "Did we take a wrong turn somewhere, because we obviously just walked in a circle."

"That's impossible," Lillian objected. "We followed that dirt path the whole way."

"Maybe the path is a circle," Anna suggested. "It could have been created to trick people, just like it tricked us."

Lillian didn't seem to take Anna's theory as a plausible explanation, but Kai was convinced.

"Good thinking, Anna," Kai complemented her. "We should try again, but this time, we won't follow the path."

"I don't think that's the reason for all this," Lillian protested. "There's something else here, something we're missing."

Anna and Kai were no longer listening. They had already started to enter the forest again.

So Lillian followed.

The three walked on for a while. This time, instead of following the twisting dirt path, they continued walking in as straight of a line as possible.

Soon, Anna could see a clearing up ahead.

"Oh, no. Not again," she moaned.

Lillian, Kai and Anna entered the clearing. Sure enough, it was the same one they had just left minutes ago.

Anna crossed her arms. "Okay, what in Ninjago is going on here?"

"This time, it wasn't our fault, I swear," Kai added. "We were walking in a perfectly straight line the whole time. It's not scientifically possible to end up in the same place we started in."

Both Kai and Anna turned to Lillian to hear what she had to say about all this. Then, it hit her.

"I can't believe I didn't think of that!" Lillian exclaimed. "How could I have been so blind?!"

Anna and Kai just stared at her.

"What exactly did you just think of?" Anna asked.

"The woods!" Lillian answered. "The reason we can't get into them is because they're protected by a spell!"

"A spell?" Kai asked, as if he'd heard wrong.

"Yes, I should have known," Lillian continued. "Sombrus is a master of dark magic. He wasn't born as an Elemental Master, but he studied and trained all his life. Of course he would protect his lair with many different spells."

Anna was curious now. "So, what exactly does the spell do?"

"This one that we've experienced is created to prevent intruders," Lillian explained. "No matter how hard a person tries to get in, the'll always end up back where they started."

"We'll have to find another way in, then," Kai summed up. "It's obvious that we can't just walk in."

Lillian, Kai and Anna all stood there, thinking, until Anna finally spoke up.

"I got it!" she exclaimed. "We can use our powers to transport us in!" Anna almost laughed at the irony of the whole thing. It was her and Kai's powers that got them into this mess in the first place. Now their powers were the only thing that could help them out of it.

"Are you sure you and Kai can teleport all three of us?" Lillian asked Anna, sounding concerned.

"Mom, you don't have to worry about me and Kai," Anna replied. "We teleported three grown adults when we were little. I think we can handle the three of us now."

"If you say so," Lillian relented.

"Okay, Anna, let's do this," Kai said. He and Anna held on to each other's hands, and Anna grabbed Lillian's hand.

"Do you remember what the place our parents were looked like?" Kai asked Anna.

"Already on it," Anna replied. "Here we go." She squeezed her eyes shut tight and concentrated hard on the place she saw in her vision.

Soon, she felt the familiar sensation of teleportation. Blowing wind. Bright light.

Then, everything was still.

Anna cautiously opened one eye. Once she took in the surroundings, she whispered to Kai and Lillian, "We're here."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Cole, we've been walking forever!" Jay complained as he and the rest of the ninjas kept walking towards Verdania. "Are you sure you know where we're going?"

"Yes, we'll be there any minute," Cole answered for what felt like the thousandth time. "Just please stop your whining!"

"Okay, okay! I was just wondering," Jay mumbled.

"So, what does Verdania look like?" asked Nya, trying to start a conversation.

"Well," Cole answered, "It's kind of small, but it's still very beautiful. It's got lots of trees and flowers blooming everywhere."

"Oh," Nya said. "So kind of like that village up ahead?"

All the ninjas looked up, and sure enough, there was Verdania.

"Finally!" Jay exclaimed, and took off running. The others followed, until they were all standing in the middle of Verdania's main road.

"Now, how are we going to find Anna and Kai?" Nya asked. "Even though the village is small, we have no idea where they'd be."

"Then we ask someone who does know," Cole answered. He walked in front of one of the shops and turned to a man who was standing there. "Excuse me, sir, but do you know of any Kais or Annas around here? We're their friends, and they told us they were coming here."

The man pondered Cole's question for a few minutes. "Kai… Anna…" Then the man's face lit up. "Oh, you mean Anna Taylor, don't you?"

Cole had no idea what Anna's last name was, but he figured that in this small town, there couldn't be too many people named Anna. So he decided to go with it. "Yeah, that's her! Now, have you seen here around here recently?"

"Well, come to think of it, I haven't," the man replied. "But you're welcome to stop by their house sometime. The Taylors are always welcoming new visitors."

"Maybe we will," Cole said. "Which house is the Taylors'?"

"It's the only one at the very edge of the village," said the man. "It looks pretty rough, too. Got vines all over it. You can't miss it."

"Thank you, sir," Cole said with a smile, then ran back to join the others.

"So, what did he have to say?" Zane asked. "Has he seen Kai or Anna anywhere?"

"No, but he did tell me where Anna's house is. Apparently, this is Anna's hometown," Cole reported. "C'mon."

The ninjas all walked towards the edge of the village to Anna's house. After a while, they came across a small house covered in vines, just as the man had told Cole.

"How are we supposed to get in?" Jay wondered aloud. "We can't just break the door down."

As Jay was saying that, Cole went up to the door and twisted the knob. The door swung wide open.

"Okay, so that's how," Jay said quietly.

The four teens entered the house, which seemed deserted.

"Hello? Anybody home?" Cole called, but there was no answer.

"So what do we do now?" Nya questioned. "They're not here."

Cole slammed his fist against the wall. "We can't just give up. We have to keep looking."

"But we already looked everywhere," Jay pointed out.

"Yes, for once, I agree with Jay," Zane said. "Kai and Anna said in their letter that they would be okay on their own. I suggest we trust their judgement."

Cole heaved a deep sigh. "Fine. We'll wait here for a while. But if they don't come back soon, we keep looking. Got it?"

"Got it," the others agreed, and with that, they started to make themselves feel at home. They could be here for a while.

* * *

**A/N: Hey everyone! How did you like this chapter? Hopefully you liked it, because we only have three more chapters plus an epilogue left!**

**Gigantic thanks to my reviewers: ZaneLoverFan88, Darkrainbow, the Guest, and Kailoverforever.**

**Response to Reviews:**

**ZaneLoverFan88: Hope this chapter answered your question. (and thanks for reminding me, too. I almost forgot all about the others!)**

**Darkrainbow: Congrats on being my 50th reviewer! *throws confetti everywhere* Okay, so I was going to PM you about what you reviewed on my other story, but then I remembered you don't have an account, so I'll say it here: I'm sorry to hear that more people are giving you trouble about your OC. But, let them think whatever they want. Don't let them get to you. Plus, I think that there's nothing wrong with your OC. I think she's perfect for my new story, don't you? So, yeah, that's it, and I'm glad that you enjoy my writing so much! Here, have a cookie or two or three (::) (::) (::) Enjoy ;)**

**Kailoverforever: I'll try to do more of the story from Kai's point of view. But when I got your review, I had already written most of this chapter, so that's why there's not a lot of Kai's POV in it.**

***IMPORTANT NOTICE EVERYONE***

**Okay, so if you all enjoyed this story so far, you should check out my newest story, Ninjago Academy (For those of you who have already, thank you!) I'm not going to tell you what's it's about right now because I'm too lazy to type all that, so you'll just have to read it. I would really appreciate it if you did!**

**That's it, and sorry for that extremely long author's note. I'll see you all soon with Chapter 16!**

**~Shadow**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I am SO sorry guys! I thought I put this chapter up last night, but when I checked this morning it wasn't up! Stupid computer...**

**Anyway, I also apologize in advance for this chapter's shortness, but it's because I wanted to cut off at a certain place.**

**Let the story continue!**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: **_**Success or Failure?**_

"We're here," Anna whispered.

Kai peered out at the forest. It was just as Anna said she saw in her vision.

A thick mist covered the entire forest, making it impossible to see any farther than a few feet. Still, Kai could just make out the shadowy figures of dozens of trees of every size surrounding them. The whole place seemed as if it radiated evil.

Even though excitement welled up inside of Kai, he couldn't help but be practical. "Okay, we're definitely in the right place, but what do we do now?"

"We find our parents, of course!" Anna said, like the answer was obvious.

"I know that, but I mean, how do we find them?" Kai clarified. "We can barely see anything! They could be right in front of us, and we wouldn't even notice!"

"Perhaps we could call to them, and they would answer," Lillian suggested.

"That wouldn't work, either," said Kai. "Remember that we are in enemy territory. Making ourselves known by yelling would just be asking for trouble."

Anna threw up her hands. "Well then what do you think, Kai? I don't hear you offering any suggestions!"

Kai wracked his brain for a solution. "If only we had some kind of light... We'd be able to see right through the fog."

"Unfortunately, I don't have any flashlights," Anna said, digging through her pockets.

Kai and Lillian followed her example, searching their pockets for any type of light source – a penlight, matches, even a glow-in-the-dark bracelet.

"The relic!" Lillian exclaimed. She pulled the strangely carved stone from her pocket and held it in her palm.

From there, Anna and Kai could see that the relic was doing something it had never done before – it was glowing.

"What? How is it doing that? I distinctly remember that it wasn't glowing before," said Kai.

Anna looked just as confused as Kai, so Lillian answered, "It must be reacting to something. But I agree, Kai, never before have I seen the relic behave like this."

"Reacting to what?" Anna mused.

"That's not important now," Kai replied, snapping out of his daze. "What is important is now we have light."

"Then what are we waiting for? It's time to find our parents!" exclaimed Anna.

The three headed off through the forest, guided by the light of the relic. After a few minutes of hiking, the relic seemed to be glowing a tiny bit brighter.

"Do you guys see that?" Kai asked.

"See what? Did you find our parents?" said Anna excitedly. She glanced wildly around in every direction.

"No, not that. The relic!" replied Kai, pointing at the odd stone.

"Yeah, what about it? It's a glowing hunk of rock. What's your point?" Anna said, somewhat discouraged that they hadn't made any progress yet.

"Can't you guys see it? It's glowing brighter!" Kai exclaimed.

"I think the light is just playing tricks on your eyes, Kai," Lillian said gently. "There's nothing different about the relic."

"Fine. Keep thinking that," Kai muttered.

They kept on going in silence, looking high and low for any signs of life. All the while, Kai noticed the relic's light becoming dimmer and dimmer, until it hardly gave off any light at all.

"Tell me you see that," Kai said. He pointed once again at the relic. "That light's a lot dimmer than it was."

"Okay, this time, I believe you," Anna said.

"The bigger question is, what's causing the light to go out?" Lillian asked, almost to herself.

"Whatever the stone was reacting to in the first place must be getting farther away from us," Anna observed.

"Or we could be moving farther away from it," added Kai. "Either way, we have to turn back."

"Is that really the best idea?" questioned Anna. "What if the stone is reacting to some kind of monster or something? We'd be heading right for it then."

"But we need the light," Kai reminded her. "We'll have to deal with the consequences when we come to that."

"If you say so," said Anna dubiously.

The team turned around and retraced their steps until they were at the approximate spot where they started out.

"Last time, we went to the left, so now we have to go that way," said Kai as he pointed to a seemingly darker section of the forest. He headed off, followed closely by Anna and Lillian. Sure enough, the farther they continued, the brighter the relic shone.

"This is just getting weird," Anna commented. "It's almost like that stone has a mind of its own."

Soon, the relic was giving off a light so bright that it was almost blinding to look at directly. The surrounding forest was illuminated, causing the trees to cast ghostly shadows on the ground.

All of a sudden, Kai stopped dead in his tracks. "I got it!"

"Got what?" asked Anna. "And why are we stopping? We need to keep looking!"

"The relic – it's reacting to our parents' power!" exclaimed Kai. "It all makes sense if you think about it. Anna, remember how your vision showed our parents tied up? But they were illuminated by light. Where else would light come from in this forest?"

"You have a point there," Anna admitted. "So you're saying that the closer we get to our parents, the brighter the light will shine?"

"I'm not saying anything. I'm just going by what you said was in your vision," said Kai.

"This all makes sense, but why has the relic never acted this way before?" asked Lillian. "We've been in possession of the relic for years, and it never gave off a light like this."

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that there are more of us now?" Anna suggested. "Back then, the only ones with the First Spinjitzu Master's power were Kai's mom and dad and my dad. Now, there's me and Kai, too."

"Good thinking, Anna," commended Lillian.

"So now that the relic's getting so bright, we must be close to where Sombrus is keeping our parents," Kai concluded. "Let's keep going."

Now, with renewed confidence, Kai, Anna and Lillian kept on forging ahead. The way was easier than before because of the increased light they had.

Soon, the three came to what seemed like an abandoned campsite. The remains of a campfire were clearly visible, along with many supplies such as ropes and canteens of water.

"Whoever was here sure left in a hurry," Anna commented.

"This must have been where our parents were being kept," Kai said earnestly. "Why else would there be a camp in this creepy forest?"

"I don't know, but wherever our parents are, they must be moving," Anna said. "Look at the relic. It's getting dimmer, but we're standing still."

"Sombrus!" Kai exclaimed. "He must have used his dark magic to spy on us somehow! Now that he knows we're coming for him, he's moving our parents!"

"Well, we can't just let them get away! We have to follow them!" Anna said. She took off deeper into the forest with Lillian and Kai at her heels.

After a few minutes, the relic started glowing brighter.

"We're close," Anna panted. "Hurry!"

The three kept running, and they soon crashed through the trees into another clearing. The only difference was this one wasn't deserted.

There, their wrists and ankles bound together and their waists tied to a tree, were Kai's and Anna's parents.

Kai and Anna wasted no time. They sprinted over to their parents and started undoing their bonds.

"It's going to be okay," Kai soothed as he untied the ropes that held his parents.

"Kai? Is it really you?" a woman with long jet-black hair and tired amber eyes asked. Her voice wavered, hardly believing that her son was standing here in front of her after all these years.

"It's me, Mom," Kai whispered, his voice catching. "Nya and I – we're both okay."

"I knew you'd come for us, Son," an older man with brown hair just like Kai's and a unkept beard said.

"I would never leave you, Dad." Kai bent down and embraced his parents tightly, not wanting to ever let go again.

Meanwhile, Anna and Lillian worked at untying the third captive's ropes. The man's once-trimmed dirty blond hair was now so shaggy it flopped down over his forehead. But there was still a glimmer of hope in his bluish gray eyes.

Anna instantly recognized the man as her father.

"Dad, I'm so glad you're okay!" exclaimed Anna, burying her face in his shirt. She started sobbing silently out of pure happiness.

"It's okay, Anna," the man said. "I promise, I will never leave you again."

Lillian knelt down next to her husband and took his hand. "Stephen."

"I'm here, Lillian." Stephen wrapped his arm around his wife and held her close just as he held Anna. "I'm here."

The two families stayed there for a few minutes, holding on to each other and cherishing the joy of the moment.

Then, suddenly, a deep voice boomed from the forest. "Sorry to interrupt the little family reunion, but did you forget? I'm here, too."

Kai's and Anna's families all directed their gaze into the tree line. At first they saw nothing, but then they noticed two blood-red eyes staring straight back at them.

* * *

**A/N: Cliffhanger! C'mon, you can't tell me you didn't see that coming. You know I LOVE cliffhangers! (Sorry...I can't help it.)**

**Reviewers (aka ZaneLoverFan88, Darkrainbow, and Wolfie) thank you thank you thank you so much! Love you guys! :)**

**Response to Reviews:**

**Darkrainbow: Glad my advice helped. I love being helpful!**

**Wolfie: Yeah, they do make a pretty great couple, now that I think about it...**

**Yep, that's it, so you know the drill.**

**1\. Review!**

**2\. Favorite!**

**3\. Follow! **

**(Not that you have to do those in any particular order...)**

**Anyways, thanks for reading, guys! (I just realized I hardly ever tell you that. 0.0 Oops.) **

**Have a great week!**

**~Shadow**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Hi guys. I know, you're probably all mad at me for not updating in a month, but I'll apologize at the bottom. For now, just read this extra-long, almost 4,000 word chapter that I wrote to try and make up for not updating.**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: **_**Fight Against Darkness**_

The two families braced themselves for an attack. Whatever was about to jump out of the tree line, it wouldn't be pretty.

Stephen stepped forward and held out his arms protectively in front of his wife and daughter.

"Show yourself, Sombrus," he snarled.

At this, terrible, cackling laughter echoed through the trees.

"Oh, Stephen, you always were one to get straight to the point," Sombrus' voice commented. "Very well. But remember this – you asked for it."

Suddenly, the darkness that blanketed the forest became darker, if that was even possible. The pair of red eyes Anna's and Kai's families had seen in the tree line grew larger and more intense as the person to whom they belonged got closer. It seemed as if all the darkness was converging around the eyes, forming a vaguely human shape.

Then, the shadowy figure began to emerge from the trees until he was clearly visible in the sparse rays of moonlight filtering through the forest canopy overhead.

Anna took an impulsive step back from the man who had held her father captive for so long.

Sombrus faintly resembled Sensei Wu in that he had a long, thick beard. However, the similarities ended there. Decades of practicing dark magic had obviously corrupted Sombrus' mind and body, turning his beard jet black and his eyes blood-red. He wore red and black robes draped over his wiry figure, and in one hand he held some sort of magic staff. To complete Sombrus' intimidating image, his mouth was twisted into a grotesque smile, knowing he finally had his enemies cornered.

Upon seeing Sombrus, a flash of rage crossed Kai's father's face. He lunged forward, ready to charge at Sombrus, but his wife stopped him. "Abram, you can't fight him."

"And why not?" Abram demanded, still enraged.

His wife remained calm. "We have to protect the children. You lead the others out of here, and I'll keep Sombrus distracted."

"Are you sure you can handle him, Julia?" Abram asked his wife. Concern replaced the anger in his voice.

"Just trust me." Julia flashed a smile at her husband.

"Fine. But here, take this with you." Abram handed Julia a long, slender object. Julia took it and immediately slipped it into her belt.

"Thanks. I'll see you later." Julia gave her husband a quick hug, then marched into the center of the clearing, directly facing Sombrus.

"If you want a fight, I'll give you one!" Julia bellowed in her most intimidating voice.

Her threat unfortunately didn't have the desired effect. Sombrus only laughed harder. "Fight me? With what? You have no weapons!"

"Oh, really?" Julia challenged. In one fluent movement, she reached to her side and whipped out the object her husband had given her, revealing its true form. It was a full length silver-colored katana, expertly forged and crafted.

Sombrus looked genuinely shocked. "But – how did you – How is that even possible?" he sputtered.

"I guess we have more tricks up our sleeves than you thought," Julia laughed. She raised the katana high above her head and charged ahead to strike Sombrus.

Sombrus quickly got over his initial shock and raised his staff to block Julia just as she brought her katana down on him. The steel of the katana clanged against the wood of the staff, causing the owners of both weapons to recoil backwards.

Julia kept attacking Sombrus, trying her best to keep him focused on her. It seemed to be working. Sombrus was using all his energy and concentration to block Julia's relentless blows. It never crossed his mind that his other captives might be trying to escape.

While Julia kept Sombrus busy, Abram motioned for the others to come closer.

"We have to get out of here while we still have the chance," he whispered. "Let's go."

"Wait a minute," Kai interrupted. "We can't just leave my mom here!"

"She'll be fine on her own," Abram assured his son. "Your mother knows these woods almost as well as I do. I'm sure she'll meet up with us eventually. Now, follow me."

Abram silently led the group away from the clearing. It seemed as if they'd actually make it safely into the forest. All was going well until they reached the edge of the clearing.

As they walked, Kai's brain started to wander. He had just found his parents, but now here he was, leaving his mother behind again. He was so tied up in his thoughts that he didn't pay attention to where he was walking. His foot caught on a root and he fell forward, landing on the ground with an "oof". As if that wasn't bad enough, the underbrush cracked and snapped under Kai's weight.

Kai hurriedly picked himself up off the ground, but the damage had already been done.

Somehow, during his battle, Sombrus heard all the noise when Kai had fallen. Sombrus immediately used his magic to toss Julia aside with a single wave of his hand. While she lay on the ground, stunned, Sombrus turned his attention towards Kai and the others.

"Trying to escape, are we?" Sombrus said nastily, his attention still turned to his prisoners. "I don't think so."

Sombrus raised his staff to strike the escapees with some evil spell. He would have succeeded, but before he could say the spell, he was tackled to the ground by Julia, who had recovered surprisingly quickly.

"Run!" Julia shouted desperately as she struggled to keep Sombrus pinned down. "I'll be right behind you!"

The others didn't need to be told twice. Kai, Anna, Stephen, Lillian, and Abram all dashed through the forest as fast as their legs would carry them. They were followed closely by Julia, who had decided to release Sombrus after she figured she had bought the others enough time.

The six stumbled past trees, rocks, and bushes, unable to see much of anything because of the dark.

After it seemed as if they had been running forever, they saw a faint light glowing from a few hundred yards ahead.

"Those lights are coming from Verdania!" Kai shouted to be heard over the noise he and the others were making as they crashed through the brush. "We're almost there!"

Kai was expecting everyone to be cheering at this new development, but when Anna spoke, she sounded more worried than anything else. "Getting to Verdania might be good for us, but what about the people that live there? We'll be leading Sombrus straight towards them!"

"You're right," Kai groaned. "We can't put all those innocent people in danger. It just wouldn't be right."

"Then we'll just have to regroup and head off Sombrus at the entrance to the forest," Stephen said firmly. "We can't let him get any farther than that. If we do, then there will be nothing that we can do that will save Verdania from destruction at Sombrus' hands."

The two families were silent as they ran the last few yards to the edge of the forest. Once they reached the tree line, they stood, side by side, facing the forest from which they had come.

"This is it, guys," Kai said seriously while he took his place in the line with Abram on his left and Anna on his right. "This is what we've been preparing for our whole lives."

"But we're not fighting alone," Anna pointed out. "No matter what happens, we'll still have each other."

"Here, here!" Kai agreed. "Even if we don't always act like it, our families need each other. Our destinies are intertwined, and there's nothing anyone can do to change that."

Everyone was quiet after that. They simply stood there, side by side, as they steeled their nerves for a fight to the finish.

Then, all too soon, the six became aware of a crashing noise in the forest not too far from where they were standing. Sombrus burst out of the trees less than 100 yards away from Anna, Kai, and their parents.

However, that wasn't all that came out of the forest. Surrounding Sombrus on either side were short creatures that slightly resembled elves or trolls. From the looks of it, they were most definitely not friendly. Although they were only about three feet tall, the nasty creatures appeared very dangerous, perhaps even deadly.

From the waist up, they looked as if they were weaved of straw and other grasses. They had wickedly sharp stones for fingers, and their faces were each complete with glowing red eyes and mouths full of pointed teeth. Below the waists of the creatures, where their legs should have been, was an indistinct swirl of dust and sticks, a little like a miniature tornado.

Hundreds of these creatures hovered all around Sombrus, all sporting wicked grins and eyes full of blood-lust.

Anna and Kai turned to their parents, whose faces showed shocked recognition of the creatures.

"What are they?" Anna was barely able to whisper.

"Nature spirits," Abram answered her. "Very deadly, especially in large groups like this. Make one wrong move, and they'll tear you to shreds."

"Just don't make any sudden moves," Lillian advised. "Nature spirits will usually only attack when provoked by someone else."

Since they couldn't fight without being overpowered by the nature spirits, the two families stood their ground and turned to face Sombrus.

"There is no escape!" Sombrus boomed. "You might as well give up now and save everyone the trouble!"

"Well, I hate to tell you, but there's something you should know about us, Sombrus," Anna called back. "We don't just 'give up'. If we go down, we go down fighting!"

"Oh, so it's a fight you want?" asked Sombrus. "In that case, a fight I'll give you." Then, to the nature spirits, he yelled, "Attack!"

All at once, the hordes of angry spirits began to surge forward, looking even more menacing then before.

"I thought you said that the nature spirits would only attack if provoked!" Anna accused Lillian.

"I said usually!" Lillian defended herself. "Besides, it seems as if the spirits are under Sombrus' control now."

"You think?" Kai said sarcastically. "What gave you that idea? The glowing red eyes?"

"Kai!" Anna snapped. "There's no time for witty remarks! We have to do something!"

Stephen, who hardly ever lost his cool, was already assessing the situation. In no time at all, he was shouting orders out to the others. "Anna! You and Kai take the right. Julia and Lillian, you take the left. Abram and I will attack from the front. Now go!"

Everyone quickly hurried to their assigned positions and plunged into battle, attacking the nature spirits with everything they had.

Lillian and Julia each pulled out a long, curved katana and began fighting the spirits immediately. They whirled their swords around so fast that they became a blur of silver that sliced through nature spirits left and right.

Stephen and Abram stayed mostly defensive and struck the masses of nature spirits from a distance with their elemental powers.

Anna and Kai didn't exactly take the same cautions as their more experienced parents. Instead, they raced directly into the wave of spirits and used their Spinjitzu tornadoes to cause as much havoc and destruction as possible.

All of their combined efforts were paying off. Sombrus' army of spirits was beginning to weaken. In no time at all, the last few nature spirits had been damaged so badly that they retreated, and with an awful hiss, they literally disappeared into the trees.

However, Sombrus wasn't about to give up the fight so easily. He raised his staff high above his head and shouted, "Enough!"

As soon as he spoke, all six of his attackers were thrown backwards in different directions by some invisible force.

Kai got up and tried to run back over to his family, but before he reached even two feet away from the spot from where he had fallen, he was bounced backwards by... nothing?

Kai tried and tried again to run away, but it was like hitting a solid brick wall every time. Finally, after trying to break through the invisible walls surrounding him for a while, Kai stopped for a minute to look around at his family and Anna's family.

They were all in the same situation Kai was in. Each of them had been fenced in separately on all sides by invisible walls. No matter how hard they tried to break through, they only succeeded in tiring themselves out.

But, one thing Kai did notice was that the walls shuddered and white light rippled through them whenever they were hit. Even so, they seemed to be holding their prisoners tight for now.

Seeing the people he loved most trapped with no possible way of escape gave Kai a renewed determination. He pounded his fists against his invisible cell and rammed his shoulder into the wall.

Still no luck.

Feeling sore and defeated, Kai slumped against the wall of his cell and dropped his head into his hands. That was when he heard a voice.

"Giving up already, Kai?"

Kai instantly recognized the tone. He whipped his head around and fixed his gaze on Sombrus. The evil lord grinned nastily back at Kai.

"I thought you would have been harder to contain than this."

The look on Sombrus' face changed to amusement, and Kai knew that the voice was coming from him. But the scary part was that Sombrus hadn't moved his mouth at all to speak.

Kai decided that he had stayed quiet long enough. He sprang to his feet and glared at Sombrus.

"What do you want?" he snapped. "And how are you even talking to me?"

"Oh, Kai," Sombrus said, almost sympathetically. "There's so much you don't know."

"Yeah? Well, I do know that when my family and I get out of these stupid funhouse cells, you'll be sorry you ever messed with us!"

"You'll watch your tongue, boy!" Sombrus chastised. "You think you're so smart? Then I guess you know all about your childhood, right?"

"Well, not everything," Kai admitted.

"I'm sure then you've heard all about how Lillian kidnapped you and Nya as children," Sombrus proceeded.

"Yes…" Kai said slowly. He still wasn't sure at the time how he felt about all that. But, based on the past few days, Kai made up his mind then and there. "Lillian only took us to protect us and Anna. Really, she didn't mean any harm."

"So that's what she told you, and you believe it?" Sombrus scoffed. "Did you ever think for yourself what her real intentions were?"

"Not really," Kai said. "But Anna trusts her, and that's good enough for me."

"Foolish boy! You really don't see it, do you? The entire Taylor family is jealous of you and your family!"

"Jealous?" Kai echoed. "Why?"

"Why not?" Sombrus countered. "Think about it, Kai. Your family used to have it all: power, wealth, popularity – Why, Sensei Wu himself even entrusted your father with the map leading to the Golden Weapons!"

"I guess you're right," said Kai.

"You guess?! I most certainly am right!" Sombrus bellowed. "Stephen and Lillian were just too jealous. It wasn't enough that Stephen used your parents' relic to amplify his own powers enough to send Abram and Julia to my forest. Lillian also had to get revenge by kidnapping you and Nya and sending you to live on the other side of Ninjago in Ignacia. You would be wise to never believe a word that anyone in that family tells you!"

Kai was speechless. Could everything he had discovered about his past so far be wrong? It all made enough sense, but… there was still one important part missing from Sombrus' so-called 'true' story.

"Okay, if what you say is true, then how did Stephen get trapped in your forest with my parents?" questioned Kai, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course, Stephen felt guilty about what he had done," Sombrus explained smoothly with no hesitation. "He came to my forest in search of Abram and Julia, but it was already too late. I had captured your parents, and I captured Stephen just as easily."

Kai once again remained silent. Although the story seemed plausible and Sombrus told it as if it were true, Kai knew deep down that this was all one elaborate lie. The one thing Kai didn't know was why. Was Sombrus just trying to turn him against his friends?

Kai figured that wasn't important right now. All that mattered was that he get himself, his family, and Anna's family out of here safely.

"You're lying, Sombrus," Kai stated after thinking these things through. "You just made that entire story up."

"How would you know that?" Sombrus sputtered, his smooth tone faltering for just a second. "You weren't old enough to remember anything!"

"You're right. I don't remember anything. But I do_ know_," Kai said firmly. "I know that Anna's family – my family – would never act like that. At first, I may have doubted them, but now I know I can trust them. End of discussion."

Kai glanced over at Anna, who had the same look of resolve on her face as Kai imagined he did. For a minute, Kai wondered if Sombrus was trying to turn Anna against her friends as well. To tell the truth, Kai wouldn't be very surprised if the evil lord was telling Anna a different version of the same events he told Kai.

No matter what the case was with Anna, Kai knew one thing for sure – everything he had said to Sombrus was absolutely true. Putting aside his doubts about Lillian, deciding to trust her and Stephen no matter what – the whole thing made Kai feel whole. And powerful. Like he had finally found his purpose in life.

At that moment, Kai looked down at his arms and was alarmed to see that his whole body was glowing. A power like he had never felt before hummed through his veins. Kai could feel himself being lifted off the ground and becoming engulfed in a massive fireball. Surprisingly, the flames didn't hurt his skin at all.

Then, a massive burst of energy rippled through Kai, and just like that, the invisible walls containing Kai burst apart, showering the surrounding area with shards of glass that quickly disappeared shortly after hitting the ground.

Still feeling more powerful than he had ever felt in his life, Kai looked over to Anna's cell to see that she was experiencing the same sort of power amplification that he was. The wind had picked up around Anna, causing leaves, rocks, and other natural materials to swirl around her. Her cell burst open just as his had seconds ago, and soon the two were standing – or really, floating – next to each other, still radiating power.

"What's happening?" Anna asked a little shakily, despite the grin on her face.

"Our true potentials," Kai replied without hesitating. "We've unlocked our inner power."

"That's all I need to hear." Anna smiled even wider, if that was possible. "Now let's finish this."

Kai didn't need any further explanation. Summoning all his energy, he shot a bolt of white hot flames directly at Sombrus. The wizard raised his staff to block the attack, but the flames were so powerful they knocked the staff right out of his hand. It skittered across the ground until it finally came to a stop about ten yards away from Sombrus.

"Direct hit!" Anna shouted, beaming at Kai. "I knew you could do it."

"Thanks. But it's not over yet," Kai reminded her.

"Right." Anna noticed that Sombrus was scrambling to reclaim his staff. "Not on my watch, Sombrus."

Anna raised her hands and concentrated on her element. Soon, dark green leafy vines snaked their way out of the surrounding forest and latched onto Sombrus' wrists and ankles. He tried to wiggle his way free, but the vines only held on tighter. In less than a minute, Sombrus had been forced to the ground and almost completely covered in vines.

Kai and Anna watched as Sombrus' control over his spell weakened, causing the invisible walls around their parents to crumble, then dissolve completely.

However, that was the last thing they saw. As suddenly as Kai and Anna's intensified power came to them, it left them. The two immediately dropped to the ground and passed out cold.

Stephen, Lillian, Abram and Julia rushed over to their children, concern written all over their faces.

"What happened?" Lillian asked, cradling Anna's head in her arms.

"Using one's true potential tends to use up a lot of one's energy," Abram explained. "It's very common for anyone to be weakened after that."

"But they'll be okay, right?" Julia questioned.

"Yes, Anna and Kai are very strong. They will come to soon," Abram replied.

While the adults were all focusing on Anna and Kai, they didn't notice the vines holding Sombrus begin to weaken.

"I hate to interrupt, but we have more pressing problems to deal with now," Stephen said to the others. By this time, Sombrus was already starting to rip vines off his arms and legs. They wouldn't be able to hold him much longer.

"What are we going to do?" Julia said, sounding worried. "The last time we tried to face him, we weren't able to win. We're not strong enough."

Abram and Stephen looked just as worried as Julia, but Lillian was smiling.

"You'll be strong enough, alright," she said. "With this."

Lillian pulled the relic from her pocket and handed it to Julia. As soon as Julia's hands touched the stone, it began to glow green with power.

"You really thought of everything when you came to rescue us, didn't you, Lillian?" said Julia.

"You're welcome," Lillian said. "Now go!"

Julia held out the relic to Abram and Stephen, who also put a hand on the stone. By now, the relic was glowing so bright it was almost blinding to look at.

"So where are we sending Sombrus?" Abram asked Stephen.

"To the Cursed Realm," Stephen replied. "It's the only place he can't come back from, ever."

"Okay, then. Are you two ready?" Abram asked.

"Ready," Julia and Stephen answered in unison.

"Then let's do this."

Abram, Julia, and Stephen all focused their attention on the still-struggling Sombrus and held out their hands towards him.

Sombrus' eyes widened in shock, realizing what was about to happen. "No! You can't do this! I swear to you, I will come back, and you will regret ever crossing the wizard Sombrus!"

But Sombrus' cries were in vain. The wind had already picked up and began swirling around Sombrus. Then, in a blinding flash of light, he was gone.

Abram, Julia, and Stephen stared at the empty spot where Sombrus had been standing, then turned to look at each other.

"Do you think that's the last of him?" Julia asked tentatively.

"I hope so," said Stephen. Then, more confidently, he added, "No one can come back from the Cursed Realm."

"Then, that's it, I guess," Abram said.

"That's it," Lillian confirmed. "There's only one thing left to do now."

"What's that?" Stephen asked, curious.

"It's time to go home," said Lillian. She motioned for Abram and Stephen to pick up Kai and Anna, who were still knocked out, and together, they all made their way back to Verdania. Back to their home.

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**A/N: I am so sorry guys! I don't know what happened, I just got too lazy to update, and then I couldn't think of anything to write, and before I knew it, a month had passed. But I just want to say, you guys are awesome readers who I probably don't deserve (but thanks for reading anyway!)**

**Okay, you guys probably don't even remember what you reviewed, but thanks to Darkrainbow, Wolfie, ZaneLoverFan88, NinjaMelissa, and the Guest (that's the most review I ever got on a single chapter!)**

**So, I just want to say, THIS STORY IS NOT OVER YET! There is still one more chapter left plus the epilogue, which I promise I will put up in a timely fashion. So stay tuned!**

**Review! **

**Favorite!**

**Follow! **

**And the last chapter will be up soon!**

**~ Shadow**

**P.S. If any of you read my other story, Ninjago Academy (which if you don't you totally should), the next chapter probably won't be updated until my school is out for the summer (early June). Sorry, and I hope you guys aren't too mad at me. :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Hi everyone! I'm so so so so so so (you get the point) sorry for not updating! I feel really bad because you guys are amazing readers and you deserve better than this. But, I would never EVER abandon a story, and I definitely wasn't going to abandon this one. So, even though it took me forever, I'm finally here with the next chapter! Hopefully, it's worth the long, long wait!**

_**Disclaimer: ShadowNinja27 doesn't own Ninjago, obviously.**_

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**Chapter 18: _Heading Home_**

"That's it. We're going to look for Kai and Anna," Cole declared, rising from his spot on the sofa.

"For the millionth time, Cole, what part of 'don't come looking for us' do you not understand?" Jay asked. "When Kai and Anna said they'd be fine without us, they meant it."

"And what part of 'I'm the leader and what I say goes' don't you understand?" Cole shot back. "You know how Kai is. What if he and Anna are in serious trouble?"

"I doubt it," Jay muttered.

Cole marched over to the front door and turned to face the others. "Look, we've been sitting around here all night. Now it's morning, and our teammates still aren't back yet."

"Yes, but didn't we agree that this would be the most strategical place to wait for their return?" Zane pointed out. "When they come back from their mission, they are most likely to return here first."

"You have a point," Cole admitted, "but they should have returned hours ago."

"Maybe they just got sidetracked," Nya suggested. "C'mon, have a little faith in my brother."

Cole opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, but he decided against it and shut his mouth again. A pained expression crossed his face, clearly indicating that he was making a difficult decision. Then he finally spoke.

"You three can do what you want, but I'm going to look for Kai and Anna. I'm the leader, and if anything happens to them, I'll be the one responsible for it."

Cole turned towards the door and grasped the brass handle. Then, swinging the door wide open, he stepped outside.

In his haste to go search for his missing teammates, Cole didn't even notice the two men and two women standing right in front of him on the sidewalk, causing him to run right into them.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there-" Cole started to apologize. That was when he noticed the two unconscious figures lying limply in the arms of the two men. "It's Anna and Kai!"

Cole's frantic yell brought Jay, Nya and Zane running. In the meantime, Cole began to hammer the two women with questions.

"Are they hurt? Where did you find them? Do they need medical attention?"

The woman with the silky black hair spoke up. "Anna and Kai are fine, but they will need a few hours' rest before they are up and about again."

Everyone relaxed a bit hearing that their friends were okay. Cole, however, had another question. "Wait a minute. How do you know their names?"

The woman who had spoken before opened her mouth to explain, but before she could get any words out, she was interrupted.

Nya, who had finally gotten a good look at the woman, was standing frozen in place as if she had seen a ghost. "Mom? You're still alive!"

It was then that Nya snapped out of her daze. With an enormous grin, the girl propelled herself forward and enveloped her mother in a tight bear hug.

Nya's mother looked on the verge of tears, seeing her daughter after being apart for so long. "Nya, my baby! I've missed you for so long! It's all okay now, your father and I, we're here for you..." Her voice trailed off and was replaced by choked sobs.

Meanwhile, Jay turned to the two men. "So I'm guessing you're Kai's and Anna's dads, right?"

"Yes, and if it weren't for Kai and Anna, we'd still be trapped in that forest," Abram smiled, then changed the topic. "Are you all pupils of Sensei Wu now? I remember how he always dreamed of training a team of ninja..."

"We are Sensei Wu's students, but there will be time for catching up later. Right now, we need to get Anna and Kai to some place they can rest without being disturbed," Zane said.

"You're right," Stephen agreed. "Unlocking their true potentials really took a lot of their energy."

"Wait, they found their true potentials?" Jay almost yelled. "That is so awesome!"

"That's right. And we'll tell you all about it when we get back," Abram replied. Then he and Stephen entered the house, and, still carrying Kai and Anna, they trudged up the stairs to the bedrooms on the second floor.

After laying Kai and Anna down to get some well-deserved rest, the two men returned to the downstairs living area and joined the others.

Despite the dust, everyone took a seat on the sofa or pulled up a chair. Then, as the bright rays of the morning sun began to filter into the room where they were sitting, Kai's and Anna's parents began to tell the story of their rescue.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Anna was awoken by bright rays of sunlight filtering into the room she was in. The funny thing was, she had no idea in the slightest how she got here.

She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and took in her surroundings.

Anna was inside a fairly small room with numerous windows letting in afternoon sun that bathed the wood floor in golden light. The walls were a soft cream color, although they seemed dirty. Besides the bed she was in, a wooden writing desk, chair and small wardrobe were the only furniture pieces in the room. Each one of the items was in good condition but covered in a fine layer of dust.

She recognized the room immediately as her own room at her home in Verdania.

How was that even possible? Anna faintly remembered the last place she had been was a forest of some sort. There was more to it than that, but the memories of the past twelve or so hours kept slipping her mind.

Anna wracked her brain for any shred of the past day's events she could recall.

She remembered that she and Kai were searching for something...

They entered a forest...

All four of their parents were there...

That was it! If their parents had been in the forest with them, then surely that meant Anna's parents were here now. She could ask them what was going on!

Anna jumped out of her bed resolutely, causing little clouds of dust to rise up everywhere. Taking no notice of this, she rushed out of the room and onto the landing.

From there, she could see that the whole house was in the same state as her room – everything was in perfect condition, but covered in dust. However, this was no time to be thinking about housekeeping.

As Anna pounded down the stairs, she could hear voices coming from the family room. She turned the corner into the main room and stopped short. Not only were her parents here, but also Kai, Nya, their parents, and the rest of the ninja.

"Oh, good, you're finally awake," Stephen called upon noticing his daughter standing in the doorway. "Have a seat; we were just about to tell the others how you and Kai used your true potentials to rescue us from Sombrus' clutches."

Anna didn't understand a word her father had said. "True potential? Rescuing you from Sombrus? What are you talking about?"

Confusion must have been written all over Anna's face, because her mother then said, "Don't worry, honey. You'll remember everything once you hear it again."

So, with mixed feelings, Anna crossed the room and took a seat on the sofa next to Kai, ready for her parents to explain the situation to her.

"Okay. So where was I?" Stephen asked.

"You were just telling us how you were all trapped by Sombrus' invisible force fields," Zane informed him.

"Yes, right," Stephen agreed. Then he continued recalling the tale. "Each and every one of us was separated, then trapped by Sombrus. Just when I was beginning to think all hope was lost, I looked over to see Anna and Kai's cells bursting apart from some kind of energy."

"They were both engulfed in energy reflecting their element – Kai was surrounded in an orb of fire, and Anna was enveloped by a swirling cloud of vines and leaves," Julia added. She smiled at the two ninja fondly.

"Anyway, their combined powers weakened Sombrus, but they also drained Kai and Anna's energy," said Stephen. He turned to Kai and Anna. "That was when you two blacked out."

"So what happened next?" Anna blurted out. Just as Lillian had said, Anna remembered the events more clearly now that she had heard them again. However, she still didn't know if her parents had succeeded in imprisoning Sombrus once and for all.

"Well, it was pretty simple after for us to finish the job after that," Abram replied. "As Sombrus' power weakened, his force fields around us broke – about the same time that you and Kai fainted. From there, Stephen, Julia and I used the relic that Lillian had brought to banish Sombrus to the Cursed Realm."

"Then, of course, we all traveled back here so you and Kai could get some rest," Lillian told Anna. "And that's how you ended up here."

No one spoke for a few moments after that. Either there was nothing more to be said, or the ninja who hadn't been there were still trying to digest all that had been told to them.

Finally, Nya broke the oppressive silence. "So, this Sombrus guy – you don't think he'll be...back any time soon, do you?"

"Of course not, Nya," Julia assured her. "No one can ever escape from the Cursed Realm."

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief; obviously they had all had the same question on their minds as Nya. However, the mood in the room didn't stay relaxed for long.

"This may have been one battle where we were able to come out on top – all thanks to Kai and Anna, of course – but that doesn't mean that we should give up our training," Cole said seriously. "I don't know when, or where, but there will be other challenges for us to face in the future. Some may be relatively easy, while others may be near impossible. But ninja never quit. Instead, we train harder, so that when the time comes, we'll be ready to defend our home and the ones we love."

"If that's the case, then what are we waiting for?" said Jay, jumping up. "You never know, those future threats could be closer than you think."

"There's one more thing," Cole said. He turned to Anna. "Are you coming back with us? I think I speak for us all when I say we could really use someone like you on our team. I'll even see to it personally that you receive the best training possible, seeing as how your previous training got cut a little short."

All eyes were now on Anna, waiting to see what she would do.

"That's a really generous offer, guys, and I appreciate it," Anna started. "But-"

She hesitated. She knew that she should go with them. After all, what if they needed her again? She could be jeopardizing all of Ninjago's safety if the ninja came across a threat they couldn't handle on their own.

But, at the same time, she felt like her parents needed her as well. After being apart for over a decade, her family was finally whole again.

She knew her decision was selfish, but...

"I can't go with you guys," Anna said sadly. "My family needs me. You've all been really kind to me, but I feel like this is where I'm supposed to be."

There was a mix of emotion written all over Anna's teammates' faces – shock, disbelief, but most of all, sadness.

Anna felt so guilty that she was about to take back what she had said, but Cole finally spoke. "If that's your decision, then I respect that. It's been a pleasure fighting alongside you."

The others all voiced their agreement, and Nya gave Anna a tight hug.

When they had all said their goodbyes, Cole turned to the rest of the ninja. "Alright guys, let's go."

One by one, the four ninja and Nya walked slowly to the door and filed outside into the mid-afternoon air, until Kai was the only one left inside.

Instead of leaving like all the others, he stayed inside the doorway and turned to face Anna. "Listen, I meant to say this earlier, but thanks for everything – most of all, for helping me rescue my parents."

"Don't mention it," Anna said quickly. "Really, you helped me out a lot too. I should be the one thanking you."

"Yeah, well, it was nothing. All in a day's work for a ninja," Kai joked. "But promise me one thing, okay? Will you look out for my parents?"

"Of course I will," Anna promised. Then she added under her breath, "Although I doubt they'll need it."

They both stood there for a moment, searching for something to say, until Anna said, "Keep in touch, alright? If anything happens, well, you know where to find me."

"I will. I still can't believe we're saying goodbye so soon, though. I was kind of getting used to working with you, no matter how irritating you can be sometimes." Kai smirked, causing Anna to frown at him.

"Then, just don't think of it as goodbye," Anna said, once again smiling. "Think of it as...as...goodbye for now."

"Really, that's the best you can come up with?" Kai teased.

"I'd like to see you do better!" Anna shot back.

"Hmm...well, in that case, I guess it's pretty good," Kai admitted. He turned and walked about halfway down the cracked sidewalk before he faced Anna again. "Goodbye for now."

Then, without another word, Kai hurried down to the main road to join the rest of the ninja, who were slowly receding from Anna's view. Soon, the group turned a corner and were blocked from Anna's sight altogether.

As Anna closed the door and walked slowly back to the family room, she thought about how much she would miss Kai and the others. They had been like a family to her when her own was torn apart. It really was a shame to have to say goodbye so soon.

But this wasn't goodbye, Anna reminded herself. She would see the others again, she was sure of it.

This was simply goodbye...for now.

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**A/N: And...CUT! That's the end, folks! **

**But, since I'm feeling extra generous towards you guys (and because you deserve it, really), I'm going to put up an epilogue in a few days! ****See, good things do come to those who wait, and in this case, that good thing is AN EXTRA CHAPTER! (well, really, it's an epilogue...)**

**Even though you guys probably don't remember what the heck you reviewed (or even if you did review at all), I'm going to thank all the reviewers anyway! Here goes: ZaneLoverFan88, Lupuswolf, the Guest, and GamerGirl108! Thank you thank you thank you!**

**Lupuswolf: This chapter was over 2,500 words, so I hope that's long enough.**

**Guest: Here's the update, although I'm sorry it took so long...**

**GamerGirl108: Well, I was going to tell everyone this after next chapter, but since you asked...**

**~~~~~~~~~ATTENTION EVERYONE! IMPORTANT MESSAGE!~~~~~~~~~**

**I was thinking about writing a sequel to this story. Yes, you heard me right. A sequel. But, I would like your opinions on the matter first. So, please review and tell me whether or not I should write a sequel. YOUR OPINIONS MATTER TO ME!**

**~~~~~~~~~END OF IMPORTANT MESSAGE~~~~~~~~~~**

**So, please review, review, review! It really means the world to me.**

**Other than that, thank you all so much for reading! I appreciate it a lot!**

**~Shadow**


	20. Epilogue

**A/N: Hi everyone...sorry about the long wait. *hangs head in shame* I really didn't mean to be gone from Fanfiction this long, but a lot has been going on in my life, so I kinda got caught up in other things. But, I never EVER forgot about this story or any of my others, and I definitely didn't forget you, my wonderful readers (if anyone is even still reading this.) Hopefully you've been somewhat patient with me, and even if you hate me right now, I still wanted to write this epilogue, just like I promised so many months ago. So, even though this epilogue isn't really spectacular, I still hope you enjoy it :)**

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_**Epilogue**_

Anna sighed as she flicked through the channels on the television. She didn't know what she was looking for, but it seemed like there was nothing on.

Or maybe it was something else. Ever since Anna had returned home from her adventure with the ninjas, she realized how truly boring her normal life was.

She wasn't ungrateful to Kai for helping her rescue her parents; in fact, it was the opposite. She had thought that there would be nothing better than to return to her normal life with her parents as soon as possible. Now, though, she couldn't help but miss the excitement of working with the ninjas.

"Hey, Anna, don't forget about our lesson later tonight!" Anna's brother Bryce called from the kitchen.

Anna smiled. The one thing she did look forward to was spending time with her older brother. Now that her parents were home, Bryce had been able to return from his quest to rescue them. However, Anna still teased him that she had rescued their parents even though it had been his quest.

"How could I forget? You know how much I look forward to your lessons!" Anna called back.

When Bryce had returned home, he promised to give Anna lessons much like the ones she had received from the ninjas. After all, he had lots of practice in the martial arts on his quest. So now, whenever he wasn't too busy, he trained Anna and taught her everything he knew. This was the one thing in Anna's new life that brought the same kind of excitement as working with the ninjas.

Anna turned her attention back to the TV.

A few minutes later, she was once again interrupted, this time by the telephone ringing.

"I'll get it!" Anna said to no one in particular. She got up, grabbed the phone, and hit the talk button.

"Hello?" She said once she held the phone up to her ear.

"Hey, Anna?" Kai's voice came over the phone.

"Oh, Hi, Kai. What's up?" Anna said, thankful for the interruption. Maybe Kai was calling because something had happened and the ninjas needed her help again.

"Nothing much," Kai answered. "Just wondering how you were doing."

"Oh," Anna said, slightly disappointed. "I'm fine; everything's been great ever since my family got back together again."

"That's good," Kai replied. There was silence for a moment, then he said, "You sure there's not something bothering you?"

Anna sighed. "Well, if you must know, even though everything's back to normal, I don't think I'll ever feel normal again. You get what I'm saying?"

"Not really."

"I'm trying to say, the way my life is now is just too boring. I think I changed too much when we were on the mission to find our parents, and now I just can't adjust to my old life again."

Kai was silent for a moment, thinking. Then he finally said, "You know, the offer still stands that if you ever wanted to come back and continue your training, we would be honored to have you as one of us."

"I know, and I appreciate the offer, but…" Anna trailed off.

"What?" Kai prodded.

"Like I told you before, I don't think I can leave my parents again," Anna said. "I'm sorry."

"I understand. Don't worry about it," Kai said. "Speaking of parents, how are mine?"

"Oh, they're doing great," Anna replied. "They've settled in to their house pretty quickly, and now they both have jobs in town, just like my parents."

"Wow, that's great!" Kai said.

"Yep, but why are you asking me?" Anna questioned. " Haven't you talked to them recently?"

"Well, actually, Sensei's been keeping us really busy, and this is the first time in weeks I've gotten any down time," Kai explained.

"And the first thing you decide to do is call me? I'm flattered," Anna teased.

"Yeah, well, I was going to call my parents after this, but I thought I'd check up on you first."

"Okay, so since I'm talking to you now, enough about me. How are you, and everyone else too?" Anna asked.

"I'm good, and so are the guys," Kai replied. "But like I said, we've been really busy. I'm starting to think the reason you won't come back is that you don't want to do all this training we've been doing."

"Kai! That's not the reason at all and you know it!" Anna said, slightly offended.

"I know, I know, I'm just messing with you," Kai said. "To tell the truth, you'd probably last longer than even us guys in the training exercises we've been doing."

"Thank you," Anna said. "Finally, some respect."

"What do you mean finally? Since when have I never given you the respect you deserve?" Kai teased.

"Do I really need to recount all the times?" Anna replied.

Anna heard Kai's laughter from the other end. "Okay, okay, you win."

"So anyway, how's Lloyd?" Anna asked, changing the subject. She had always been partial to young boy, even though he could be a little unbearable at times.

"Oh, that little devil? He's fine," Kai muttered.

"Kai!" Anna exclaimed. "What did Lloyd ever do to you?"

"Nothing really, but he's just so annoying sometimes!" Kai whined. "And he's impossible to train, besides that."

"First of all, quit whining; you sound just like him," Anna said. "And second, Lloyd is Sensei's nephew, and I'm sure Sensei would want you to treat Lloyd better than this."

"But–" Kai started.

"No buts!" Anna cut him off. "I'm sure Sensei has a plan for him, even if you're too stubborn to see it. Just promise me you'll do your best to train Lloyd, alright?"

"Okay, fine. I promise," Kai said. Then he added, "But only for you."

"That's all I'm asking," Anna said. "It can't be too bad, can it?"

"Oh, you have no idea," Kai muttered.

"Kai, you're impossible," Anna said in exasperation.

"I know. It's one of my many talents," Kai replied smugly.

Anna rolled her eyes, even though she knew Kai couldn't see it. "It's been great talking to you, Kai, but I've got to go pretty soon. Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"Umm, I don't think so…" Kai's voice trailed off. "Oh yeah! There was one more thing. Remember those Serpentine that we fought a while ago in the Badlands?"

Anna shivered involuntarily. "How can I forget? Those things were seriously creepy."

"Well, we've been keeping on full alert back at the Bounty in case they decide to show their ugly faces again," Kai explained.

"And?" Anna questioned.

"So far, there's been nothing, but just keep your guard up, okay?" Kai said. "I…I want you to be safe."

"Thanks for the concern, but really, you don't have to worry about me," Anna replied.

"Just promise me, okay?" Kai insisted. "I promised you that I'd train Lloyd, so you owe me one."

Anna sighed, knowing she had to give in. "Okay, okay, I promise."

"Good," Kai said. "Sorry to cut this talk short, but I really should call my parents. After all, I haven't spoken with them for a while."

"It's okay, I have to go soon anyway," Anna said. "Thanks for calling!"

"No problem," Kai replied. "Like I said, I would have called sooner if I wasn't so busy."

"Well, just don't get so busy that you forget about me," Anna said teasingly.

"There's no way I would ever forget you in a million years, Anna," Kai said softly. "You know that."

"Yeah, but I was just waiting for you to say it," Anna said. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later. I miss you!"

"Miss you too," Kai said. "Don't worry, I'll call you again sometime soon. But I really should go now, so bye until then!"

Okay, bye, Kai!" Anna said. Then she heard the line go dead as Kai hung up, so she hung up as well.

As Anna sat there, thinking, she realized that Kai was right about one thing. There would always be a new threat to Ninjago, something only a ninja could handle. Even though everything seemed pretty calm for now, Anna knew that the time would come when Ninjago's fate would once again be placed in her and her friends' hands.

But until then, there were plenty of other things to do to keep herself busy. And, most of all, Anna vowed to train as hard as she possibly could. She knew it wouldn't be long before all her skills would once again be put to the test. Because no matter what, there would always, always be a need for a ninja.

* * *

**A/N: So, hopefully this was good, I know it probably wasn't, but at least I tried :)**

**Please, please, please if anyone is reading this, please review and comment what you thought! It doesn't have to be long, just if I could know if people are reading this, that would be great, so please review!**

**Shoutout to the amazing people who reviewed last chapter : tstripe00, iluvninjagoTNSBFWgirl, darkrainbow, ZaneLoverFan88, GamerGirl108, Lupuswolf, and the guest! I know that probably none of you guys are still reading this, but thank you so much anyway!**

**Let's see...anything else...? Oh, yes, just to let you all know, you WILL be seeing more of me on Fanfiction from now on, I promise. I'm definitely going to finish my other story, Ninjago Academy, and I also plan on writing a few new stories. So, check my profile for more information about updates!**

*******************IMPORTANT******************

**Ok, so you all gave me some great feedback on whether or not I should write a sequel, but the truth is, I just can't decide! I do have somewhat of an idea for a sequel, but I just don't know. I can say that if I do decide to write a sequel, it would probably take me a while, and I don't know how long you guys are willing to wait. But, please keep checking my profile, because it will be updated regularly with new information, and if I decide to write a sequel, I will make sure to tell you all on my profile.**

**Well, that's it for this rediculously long author's note, and for this story as well! Thanks for reading, please review, and I hope to see you at the next story!**

**~ Shadow**


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